A powerful explosion ripped through the center of the Russian city of Belgorod, located near Ukraine, on Thursday, causing material damage and leaving an impressive crater, the local governor announced, adding that no casualties were immediately reported, AFP reports.

The city of Belgorod in the region of the same name in RussiaPhoto: DreamsTime / Ukrphoto

“There was an explosion. According to preliminary information, there are no casualties,” Vyacheslav Gladkov said in Telegram, without specifying the cause of the explosion.

He said that as a result of the explosion, a funnel with a diameter of 20 meters was formed at the intersection of the central highways of the city.

“Windows were damaged in a nearby residential building, the explosion damaged several parked cars and knocked down electric poles,” he added.

In Telegram, the mayor of Belgorod Valentyn Demidov published images showing the asphalt torn up by the explosion, debris in front of the house and the interior of the destroyed apartment.

Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, regularly comes under artillery fire, sometimes deadly, which Moscow attributes to Ukraine, but the center of Belgorod is rarely hit.

At the beginning of July, Vyacheslav Gladkov said that as a result of explosions near the center of Belgorod, at least four people were killed and four more were injured.

Later, the Russian military announced that they had shot down three Ukrainian missiles fired at the city. (photo: DreamsTime / Ukrphoto)

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