Ukrainian attack on residential building claims 15 lives in Belgorod, Russia says

At least 15 people have been killed after a 10-story residential apartment building partially collapsed in Russia’s southwestern city of Belgorod on Monday, Russian news agency TASS reported citing the Russian Emergencies Ministry’s statement.

According to the report, the building collapsed following a “Ukrainian attack” on May 12.

“Rescuers found another body. In all, 15 bodies have been already recovered from the rubble,” the statement reads.

Belgorod and its suburbs came under massive shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces earlier on May 12. Fragments of a downed Tochka-U tactical missile damaged a 10-storey residential building, causing one of its sections to collapse.

Moreover, search and rescue operations at a partially collapsed 10-storey residential apartment building in Russia’s southwestern city of Belgorod have been completed, a spokesperson for the Russian Emergencies Ministry, TASS reported.

“The search and rescue operations and debris removal in the city of Belgorod have been completed,” the spokesperson stated. “Seventeen people were rescued and unfortunately we have recovered 15 bodies from under the rubble.”

According to TASS, Belgorod and its suburbs came under massive shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces on May 12. Fragments of a downed Tochka-U tactical missile damaged a 10-storey residential building, causing one of its sections to collapse.

Earlier, the Emergencies Ministry said that 12 people, including two children, were rescued from the site, Al Jazeera reported.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov posted a video to Telegram showing a collapsed building with a large hole in it.

“Following direct shell fire on a residential building… the entire entrance, from the tenth to the ground floor, collapsed,” Gladkov said, condemning “massive bombings” by the Ukrainian army.

The Russian Ministry of Defence later wrote on social media that the building had been struck by fragments of a downed Tochka-U TRC missile. It also said that air defences had shot down several more rockets over the Belgorod region, as well as two drones that were destroyed in a separate incident, Al Jazeera reported.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military does not comment or acknowledge alleged attacks on Russia and annexed Crimea.