The independent Astra agency, citing photos and videos from residents, reported that “they have been charged at least 50 explosions“, and power and water supply interruptions were reported in some districts.
Footage from one resident also shows what he says are fragments of unidentified bullets.
The region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, confirmed in an evening statement on Saturday that the city had been hit energy facilities. He linked the damage to the American HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) missile system.
“According to our information, the city of Belgorod was hit by heavy shelling, probably using the HIMARS system. There were no casualties, but energy facilities were destroyed,” he wrote.
The most important hit
In a later statement, Gladkov reported that a shot had been fired towards Belgorod during the night 24 bulletswhich was to damage energy facilities and other buildings and property.
“During intense shelling, 24 missiles were fired towards Belgorod. Energy facilities and nine vehicles were damaged,” he wrote on Sunday morning. “Employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations also extinguished a fire in a farm building on private property.”
Gladkov added that damage to houses, vehicles and infrastructure was reported in the Borisov region, the Valuya district, Volokonovka, Grajvoron and Krasnoyarsk, and some areas were temporarily left without gas.
Using available footage, Astra analysts determined that overnight the Belgorod thermal power plant was hit at least twice. “Both impacts were captured on camera. The video was shot from Vokzalnaya Street. The distance to the thermal power plant is approximately 750 m,” Astra wrote.
At the time of publication, Kyiv had not commented on the attack.
A humanitarian disaster
The blow comes as Kiev continues to grapple with widespread heating and power outages following multiple major Russian attacks on the country's power grid.
That night, Ukraine also had to face another massive attack. The Russian army carried out a combined attack on critical infrastructure facilities. In total, the Air Force radio engineering troops detected 396 air attack means – 21 missiles and 375 unmanned aerial vehicles of various types.
The main direction of the attack was the Kiev Oblast. The Russians used strategic planes equipped with Kh-22/Ch-32 missiles. According to preliminary data, air defense shot down 372 targets – 15 missiles and 357 drones. The services recorded hits of two rockets and 18 combat drones in 17 locations.
On Sunday morning, authorities announced that following Saturday's attack over 1,670 buildings in Kiev remain without heating, and nearly a million without electricity.
After the Jan. 20 attack, Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe, saying more than half a million people had already fled the capital and urging others to leave the city if possible.
The Kremlin suggested it was intended to attack Ukraine's power grid in sub-zero temperatures putting pressure on Kyivto make concessions in peace talks. While some speculated that an energy truce could be reached during the weekend negotiations in Abu Dhabi, subsequent statements indicate that no progress has been made.
