Belgorod blast leaves buildings and vehicles damaged, one car lands on rooftop

An explosion in Belgorod has left a large crater in the ground at one of the city’s intersections.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov confirmed the incident without explaining what had caused the explosion. “Mayor Valentin Demidov, regional security head Evgeny Vorobyov, and all the emergency response workers are already on site,” Gladkov wrote on Telegram, promising to post more detail later.

Several cars have been damaged by the blast. One of the vehicles went up into the air and landed on a nearby rooftop. The local media are publishing photos from the scene.

Windows have been shattered in a number of nearby buildings, but no one has been injured, according to the latest information.

The Telegram news outlet Mash reports that locals heard a loud whistling noise before an unidentified object crashed and exploded at the intersection. Another news channel explicitly described the incident as a munition strike.