Russian authorities have evacuated 17 apartment buildings in Belgorod, a city near the Ukrainian border, after discovering an explosive device near the site of an accidental bomb blast caused by a Russian warplane earlier in the week.
The blast resulted in a large crater and three people injured. The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged the weapon was accidentally released by one of its Su-34 bombers. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, but military experts believe the weapon was a powerful 500-kilogram bomb. The evacuations ended later in the day, with residents returning to their homes after the device was removed from the residential area.
Belgorod has experienced regular drone attacks since Russia sent troops into Ukraine last year. Russian authorities have blamed these strikes on the Ukrainian military, who have not claimed responsibility for the attacks. Tensions between Russia and the West remain high following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, with frequent expulsions of diplomats by both sides.
On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Germany had expelled employees from Russian diplomatic missions. In response, Russia announced that it would “mirror” the expulsions by Germany and “significantly limit” the maximum number of staff at German diplomatic missions in Russia. Russia is expelling more than 20 German diplomats, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
The German government confirmed the expulsions, stating that it had been in contact with Russia in recent weeks on “questions regarding the staffing of the respective diplomatic missions.” A Russian plane with diplomatic clearance reportedly flew to Berlin on Saturday, though the German air force did not specify who or what was on board. The European Union has closed its airspace to Russian aircraft since the war in Ukraine began, so special clearance is required for such flights.
SOURCE: Ref-euronews
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