A series of large explosions rocked the Russian city of Belgorod on the night of January 16 and 17. Illustrations Pravda.
According to Pravda, Mr. Vyacheslav Gladkov, Governor of Belgorod province – Russia’s border province bordering Ukraine, announced on Telegram that: “Our air defense system has been activated in Belgorod. Emergency services are recovering the consequences. on the ground. According to preliminary information, there are no casualties or damage.”
The reason for the explosions has not been disclosed at this time. Meanwhile, in an interview with Russia’s TASS news agency on January 16, an official of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) militia accused the Ukrainian army of repeatedly ambushing the area. this area in recent times.
According to this official, from the morning of January 16, a series of areas in Donetsk, including the city of Donetsk, Makeyevka, Golmovsky, Gorlovka, Yelenovka and Shirokaya Balka were subjected to intense rocket attacks. Ukrainian rockets and artillery. Ukraine’s military used long-range weapons, including multiple rocket launchers, aided by the West, to attack Donetsk.
Ukrainian soldiers opened fire and fired towards Russian forces. Photo IT
“The enemy has just received a new shipment of missiles from Western sponsors and so they need to test their combat capabilities,” the DPR official confirmed, revealing the foggy weather in the country. Donetsk on January 16th thwarted Ukrainian military attacks, making them inaccurate. However, the interception of pro-Russian forces in Donetsk was also hampered by bad weather conditions.
Over the past time, thanks to the continuous aid of the West with weapons, especially multiple rocket launchers, the Ukrainian army has conducted many raids against Russian-controlled positions in the Donetsk region, the Donbass region, Eastern Ukraine. Analysts say the Ukrainian military’s attacks on Donetsk and other Russian-controlled areas in the Donbass are aimed at dispersing Russian forces, thereby easing pressure on the Soledar and Bakhmut fronts. .
Andrey Bayevsky, a local lawmaker and lieutenant colonel in the DPR militia, said the Ukrainian army had fired an average of about 200 shells a day at settlements in Donetsk.
The raids caused a lot of damage to pro-Russian forces as well as to infrastructure in the city of Donetsk. Donetsk Mayor Aleksey Kulemzin accused the Ukrainian attacks of killing dozens of people. Many homes, stadiums, offices, government headquarters and commercial centers were badly damaged.
In a related development, in the latest phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine was pursuing a “destructive path” by escalating hostilities with the the help of Western nations, the Kremlin insisted.
Putin cited Kiev’s rejection of his ceasefire proposal during the Orthodox Christmas holiday this month as an example of Ukraine’s “hypocritical” policy.
For his part, President Erdogan has told Putin that Turkey is ready to act as a mediator to achieve lasting peace between the countries at war, Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reported. believe.