At least 18 people, including two children, have been killed and 111 injured following a Ukrainian attack on the center of the Russian provincial capital of Belgorod, the Russian Emergencies Ministry reports.
Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Saturday that the attack on Belgorod, about 30km (19 miles) from the border with Ukraine, had hit a residential area. In a Social Media post, he urged all residents to move to air raid shelters as sirens sounded.
Belgorod borders Ukraine’s Luhansk, Sumy and Kharkiv regions, some of which were hit by Russian air raids on Ukraine on Friday, in what was one of the deadliest attacks since the war began in February 2022. The death toll has risen to 39 from those attacks.
Belgorod is about 600km (373 miles) from the Russian capital, Moscow, and has been a front-line region, serving as a vital base for the Kremlin’s armed forces to launch attacks towards Ukraine.
Several Explosions have Rocked the City of Belgorod in Western Russia today causing the Death of 10 Civilains and the Injury of at least 45 others, a Movie Theater, Skating Rink, Christmas Market, as well as a number of other Buildings were Damage by the Explosions with the Cause… pic.twitter.com/us5mzvRiOj
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 30, 2023
Cluster munitions used against civilians?
"Kiev employed rockets carrying cluster bomb warheads in its strike against the Russian border city of Belgorod, the Russian Defense Ministry stated on Saturday, labeling the attack a ”crime.” This weapon type has been banned by more than 110 nations under a UN convention dating back to 2008, due to the extreme danger it poses to civilians. " Ukraine did not sign that Treaty.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement the attack would “not go unpunished.”
The ministry said its anti-aircraft units had destroyed 13 Ukrainian rockets over the Belgorod region on Friday.
And Russian forces shot down 32 Ukrainian drones across the country, Moscow officials said earlier on Saturday.
Drones were seen in the skies over Moscow, Bryansk, Oryol, and Kursk regions, the ministry said in a statement. All the drones had been destroyed by air defenses, it added.
NATO-SUPPLIED WEAPONS USED?
Russia on Saturday requested a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the deadly strike. They demanded that the Representative from the Czech Republic also attend because the rocket debris in Belgorod points to a Czech-made modification of the baseline BM-21 "GRAD" MLRS.
The Czech versions, named "Strigar" and RM-70 "VAMPIR" have almost DOUBLE the range of regular BMP-GRAD Launchers, making the attack on Belgorod, possible from inside Ukraine. The Czech STIGA 122mm rocket is a longer range variant of the BM-21. It can be fitted with cluster warheads. The Ukrainians started receiving them in November.
NATO-supplied weaponry are not supposed to be used to attack interior Russia, but only for Ukraine operations inside Ukraine.
The Czech Republic refused to send its Representative to the Security Council meeting saying "The Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic will not take part in the meeting of the UN Security Council in connection with the shelling of Belgorod by the Armed Forces of Ukraine." The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic, Jan Lipavsky, announced on his page on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
“We will not allow Russia to call us anywhere <…>. We will be happy to attend the [UN] Security Council [meeting] when Russia wants to discuss the withdrawal of its <…> troops [from Ukraine],” the Foreign Minister wrote.
US and UK Blamed
"Great Britain is behind the shelling of Belgorod" said- Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
In his speech to the UN Security Council today, Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, described the shelling as 'a premeditated act of terrorism against civilians,' arguing that Kiev’s Western supporters share the responsibility for deaths.
'The West is complicit in the crimes committed by the gang [in power] in Kiev,' the diplomat said. 'We know that British and American consultants were directly involved in the organization of this terrorist act.'
He warned that 'the organizers and perpetrators' of the strikes will 'be punished."
RUSSIAN AEROSPACE FORCES PLACED ON HIGH ALERT
A COVERT INTEL SOURCE in Russia has told the Hal Turner Radio Show that Russia's Tu-22M3 (shown below)
and Tu-95 long-range bomber fleets (i.e. all OF THEM)
have been placed on "high alert" and significant strikes are being planned on Ukraine for January 1st and 2nd
This source alerted of similar developments on May 3rd in real-time, and was found to be 100% accurate.
M1A1 Abrams Tanks Enter Russia??
A **single** report coming from the border village of Shebekino, Russia, CLAIMS that M1A1 Abrams tanks are visible inside Russia, headed toward Shebekino. The map below shows the area:
The source says "There are battles in the Shebekino area. The enemy has broken through the border of our homeland. Abrams spotted; this is no joke. You Bastards will burn."
TANGENT: Israel
In a very frightening sign that Russia has had enough and is escalating, Russian forces inside Syria late today, began DIRECTLY SHOOTING DOWN Israeli guided bombs and missiles, heading into Syria.
Russia has not done this in the past; allowing Israel to do what it felt it had to. Today, that changed.
Today alone, Russian forces, using the Pantsir-S anti-aircraft missile system, shot down at least TEN (10) Israeli guided Bombs, and at least THREE (3) Israeli Cruise Missiles as they entered Syrian Air Space.
