Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a resident of the area had suffered minor injuries and his life was not in danger. He also said that seven houses were damaged as a result of the incident. There were no comments from the Ministry of Defense and it was not immediately clear what caused the fire. Reuters could not independently verify the statements. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Pictures posted on social media showed a large funnel of smoke rising above the ground. Reuters could not verify the reports. Separately, the governor of the Kursk region, which also shares a border with Ukraine, said a railway bridge had been damaged on a line used by freight trains. Speaking on video posted on his Telegram channel, Governor Roman Starovoit described the incident as an act of sabotage. Russia last month blamed Ukraine for a helicopter attack on a fuel depot in Belgorod, for which Kyiv denied responsibility, as well as for bombing villages and launching rockets into an ammunition depot. Other Russian regions that share a border with Ukraine have also reported cross-border bombings since Moscow sent thousands of troops to Ukraine on February 24 in what it called a “special military operation.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Reuters. edited by Guy Faulconbridge and Angus MacSwan Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
