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'''Belgorod''' is a city in the [[Russian Federation]].
===Belgorod attacks===
[[File:Belgorod conflict area.PNG|right|300px|thumb|On October 17, 2022, Liveuamap.com, a Western source map, colored in the Belgorod Oblast in the Russian Federation to represent it as an active combat zone.]]
On April 1, 2022, ''Reuters'' reported an attack on a fuel storage facility in the Russian city of [[Belgorod]], north of the Russia-Ukraine border.<ref>https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-702949</ref> Ukrainian National Security Council Oleksiy Danilov denied any Ukrainian involvement.<ref>https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-strikes-fuel-depot-russias-belgorod-regional-official-says-2022-04-01/</ref> On April 13, 2022, more attempts at sabotage and strikes were reported against facilities on Russian Federation territory. Moscow said that if such incidents continue, the Russian Armed Forces will strike at decision-making centers, including those in Kyiv.
On July 4, 2022, the civilian populations of the Russian cities of Belgorod and neighboring [[Kursk]] came under massive shelling attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At least 5 civilians were killed in Belgorod, and 5 more were injured, including a 10-year-old child. According to Russian media, 3 members of a Ukrainian family from [[Kharkiv]], who moved to Russia after the outbreak of hostilities, died as a result of the attack. Civilian infrastructure was severely damaged. At least 40 houses were damaged, 5 of them were completely destroyed. The attack was carried out with Ukrainian Tochka-U missiles.
On October 15, 2022, the city of Belgorod in the Russian Federation was attacked with HIMARS, in violation of the supposed agreement the Biden regime imposed on the Kyiv regime as a condition for supplying the weapons. China, [[Egypt]], Serbia, India, Kazakhstan and 7 other nations closed their embassies and called on all their citizens to leave Ukraine immediately.<ref>https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/china-calls-on-all-their-citizens-to-leave-ukraine-immediately/</ref> Intensive shelling of the civilian population in Belgorod by NATO/Ukraine forces continued on October 16; ''Military Watch'' magazine reported that Russian air defence have "reportedly broken a world record for the longest ranged surface to air kills”.
One of the attacks on the city was carried out by a pair of Ukrainian combat aircraft, an Su-27 and Su-24, which reached the Russian border at an extremely low altitude. Having then gained altitude, they shot at their target in Belgorod; Russian S-300V4 surface to air missile batteries returned fire. Both aircraft were shot down over 217 km away in the Poltava region of Ukraine, surpassing the 150 km range kill previously recorded by a Russian [[S-400]] system against a Ukrainian Su-27 over Kiev in March 2022.
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The Russian made [[S-300]]V4 has access to a range of missiles, including the 40N6 which has a 400 km range and a hypersonic speed exceeding Mach 14 (10k mph+). The missile has double the range of its top Western competitors, and is deployed by both [[Chinese]] and Russian [[S-400]] units while also being compatible with the S-300V4. – the report reads. It was for years the world's longest ranged anti-aircraft capable ground launched missile, although new missiles integrated onto the [[S-500]] system surpass it. The kill against an Su-27 reflects Russia's overwhelming superiority in anti-aircraft capabilities, ''Military Watch'' concludes. Additionally, Russians forces shot down sixteen NATO/Ukrainian drones over Belgorod. On October 17, 2023, Russia responded with a blitz of [[Geran]] drone reprisals on Kyiv, Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnitsa, and several other large cities.<ref>https://youtu.be/xYrIWvoFn2g</ref> The Kyiv regime threatened to bomb Moscow or [[St. Petersburg]] with a drone that can fly 1000 km and capable of carrying a 75 kg warhead.<ref>https://lenta.ru/news/2022/10/17/bespilotnik/</ref>
By October 18, 2022, NATO/Ukraine counteroffensive operations in [[Donbas]], [[Zaporozhye]], and [[Kherson]] were brought to a halt.<ref>https://youtu.be/ZAQszYxgzPA</ref>
On October 19, 2022, NATO/Ukraine forces shelled a [[kindergarten]] in Belgorod oblast; on October 20 they shelled a [[school]], a [[church]], and a cultural center;<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPCJky8YBSk</ref> on the October 21 they shelled an [[orphan]]age.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N88q38eeTfg</ref>
====New Year's 2024 attack====
On December 29, 2023 Ukraine attacked the city of Belgorod in the [[Russian Federation]] (there were other attacks reported on January 2, 2024 and an attack on the city of [[Donetsk]], again aimed at civilians) killing at least 24 in Belgorod, including four children, and wounding 131, including 18 children. All the victims were civilians engaged in holiday shopping and festivities and there is no evidence that any of the Ukrainian targets were, even marginally, [[military]]. No Russian soldiers were killed.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that the rockets used illegal [[cluster munition]]s, prohibited by international conventions. The US previously supplied 155mm Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICM), which are cluster munitions rounds, mostly because the US ran out of conventional 155mm rounds.
The Russians asked for an emergency [[UN Security Council]] Meeting, alleging that the Ukrainian attacks were aimed only at civilians and that cluster munitions were used. Russia's UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said the Belgorod targets included an ice rink, sports center and a university. Russia also blamed the [[Czech]]s for supplying RM-70 Vampire multiple rocket launchers that were used in the attack, paired with Ukrainian Olkha (Vilkha) rocket launchers that fire 300mm rockets.
On January 2, 2024 TASS reported that Russia shot down 17 Olkha rockets in the Belgorod region. According to the Russians, the attack on Belgorod was carried out directly under orders from Ukrainian dictator Volodymyr Zelensky. The operation was launched by the [[Kraken regiment]]. The Kraken Regiment is a Special Forces unit under the command of the Main Directorate for (Military) Intelligence ([[GUR]]) headed by [[Kirill Budanov]]. The Kraken field commander responsible for the Belgorod operation, according to the Russians, was Sergey Velichko. Velichko previously served in the [[Azov brigade]], regarded by many as a [[neo-Nazi]] and [[antisemitic]] outfit known for its ruthlessness. The Kraken regiment is based in the north-east section of Kharkiv. This unit is not part of the Ukrainian army but is directly commanded by the GUR.
====2024 NATO election interference====
During the 3 days of voting in the Russian presidential election from March 15-17, 2024, NATO and Ukraine staged a suicide cross-border invasion and shelling of polling stations in [[Belgorod]] and [[Donbas]].<ref>https://weapons.substack.com/p/ukraines-effort-to-interfere-in-russias</ref> 11 people were killed at voting stations in Belgorod and over 80 injured.<ref>https://youtu.be/ZwvAfzvynU8</ref> The NATO interference in Russian [[democracy]] caused a huge turnout and rallying to the flag among the Russian population.
==References==
{[reflist}}
[[Category:Russia-Ukraine War]][[Category:2020s]]