Russia accidentally bombed one of its own villages near Ukraine, its army confirmed. A village in the southern Voronezh region was bombed, Moscow said, adding, "On 2 January 2024, at around 9am Moscow time (GMT), during a flight of the aerospace forces, an abnormal discharge of aircraft ammunition occurred over the village of Petropavlovka in the Voronezh region. There are no casualties." Russia-Ukraine War: A firefighter works to extinguish a fire after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine.(AP)
Russian news agencies reported citing the military that six private houses were damaged in the accident.
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"An investigation into the circumstances of the incident is under way. A commission is working on the ground to assess the nature of the damage and provide assistance to restoring houses," the statement read as per news agency AFP.
Some residents have been moved to temporary accommodation, Voronezh region governor Alexander Gusev said. Earlier, Russian talk show host Olga Skabeyeva said Ukraine had conducted a "terrorist attack" on a village in Voronezh. Her posts have bee deleted since it became clear Russia was responsible. Ukrainian journalist Den Kazansky shared a screenshot before the post was removed.
This comes as Ukraine's two largest cities came under attack from Russian missiles that killed at least five people and injured almost 100. Four civilians were killed and 92 injured in the capital of Kyiv, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said. Another person was killed in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, officials said as Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi claimed that air defenses shot down all 10 of the hypersonic missiles, out of about 100 that were launched.
The barrage extended Russian attacks- the largest single assault on Ukraine since the war started. At least 41 civilians were killed since the weekend.