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Russian authorities have promised to rebuild houses in a village accidentally bombed during the second massive barrage against Ukraine of the new year.
Moscow’s defence ministry and state media said that an “abnormal discharge of aircraft ammunition” from a Russian jet had occurred early on Tuesday in Petropavlovka, a village about 150km from the Ukraine border in the Voronezh region. An investigation into the incident, which damaged nine houses, is under way, the ministry added.
Moscow’s attacks on Ukraine have often backfired and hit its own territory, fuelling a revival of the “bomb Voronezh” meme on Russian social media which implies a foolish strike on an enemy that ends up hurting the attacker.
Before the authorities officially admitted responsibility for the accident, photos and videos from Petropavlovka showing a large crater in the village, several destroyed buildings and scattered debris were widely shared on local Telegram channels in the aftermath of the explosion.
“This is Petropavlovka: the street is f**king gone. And here is Yarik’s house. Hello, Yarik, your house is no longer there,” a man’s voice reports in a Telegram post as the video surveys the destroyed part of the village.
No one was killed during the accidental strike, but four people were treated for minor injuries and several vehicles were damaged, Voronezh regional governor Alexander Gusev wrote on his Telegram channel.
“I have the situation in Petropavlovka fully under control,” he added. The families who lost their homes were moved to temporary accommodation.
The strike was part of a barrage of 100 missiles and drones against northern Ukraine which killed five people and injured more than 120 in Kyiv and Kharkiv, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
UN officials estimate that nearly 70 Ukrainians have been killed and at least 360 injured because of air strikes across the country since December 29.
This was not the first time Russian territory has been hit by its own air force since President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Last April, a similar “abnormal discharge” from a Russian warplane hit the city of Belgorod, about 40km north of Ukraine, leaving a huge crater and damaging several buildings.
In October 2022 a fighter-bomber crashed into a residential building in the southern city of Yeysk, causing a massive fire and killing 14 people during what the Russian authorities said was a training flight.
A few days later, a fighter-bomber crashed into a residential building in the Siberian city of Irkutsk. Both pilots were killed.
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