Late Thursday, a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber dropped a bomb on the Russian city of Belgorod, which has a population of over 400,000 people. State media reported that the explosion created a 40-meter (130-foot) crater, blew a car onto a roof, and caused damage to buildings. According to reports from state news agencies RIA Novosti and TASS, the Russian Aerospace Forces' Su-34 aircraft, performed a flight over the city of Belgorod, 40 kilometers (24.8 miles) north of the Ukrainian border when an "emergency release of an air ordnance occurred" at around 22:15 Moscow time on April 20.

According to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov of the Belgorod region, the incident occurred at the junction of a central street and created a massive impact crater with a 20-meter radius. Meanwhile, RIA Novosti reported that a car was blown onto the roof of a store. Additionally, several apartment buildings were damaged in the blast, according to Belgorod Mayor Valentin Demidov's post on his Telegram channel.

According to Gladkov, two individuals were reportedly hurt in the blast. In December of last year, Russian state media praised the Su-34 warplanes, announcing that a fresh shipment of "frontline bombers" had been sent to the Russian military for deployment against Ukraine. However, they did not specify how many planes were included in the delivery.

A report from TASS states that the Su-34 bomber is said to become the primary strike force of the Russian frontline aircraft, with enhanced combat capabilities that allow for the use of advanced air-launched munitions, longer range for striking ground and naval targets, and increased accuracy of bombing runs. These planes have the ability to carry a range of munitions, such as air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, as well as guided and unguided bombs.

There was no mention in Russian state media regarding the type of munition that fell on Belgorod on Thursday night. Reports suggest that Moscow's Su-34 fleet has suffered considerable losses during the war, with over 10% of the planes being destroyed according to some estimates. Oryx, an open-source intelligence website based in the Netherlands, claims to have visual proof of 19 of the planes being lost in combat and non-combat situations.

An analyst describes the circumstances as "odd."

Peter Layton, a former Royal Australian Air Force officer and visiting fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute, suggested that a pilot might drop bombs in case their aircraft loses power or if an Su-34 loses power in one of its two engines.

However, he referred to the Belgorod incident as "unusual" for several reasons.

Firstly, the munition exploded. During an emergency, the ordnance would typically be released in a "safe" mode, preventing detonation unless "the bomb's explosive filling is very sensitive to shock." Peter Layton, a former Royal Australian Air Force officer and a visiting fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute, finds the Belgorod incident on Thursday "odd" for a few reasons. For one, the bomb exploded instead of being released in a "safe" mode during an emergency, which is typical unless the bomb's explosive filling is highly sensitive to shock.

Secondly, a pilot would usually release a bomb in unpopulated areas, while the bomb hit the town center, which hints at accuracy. Lastly, if there were any issues, the warplane would have jettisoned all munitions, not just one. "Maybe they were but only one exploded," Layton said. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Belgorod region has witnessed numerous explosions and bombings.

According to a Telegram post by Gladkov earlier this week, Kyiv’s forces struck a village on the border with Ukraine in the Belgorod region. Local media, citing an anonymous source, reported that two drones dropped small bombs at the local thermal power plants.

However, Ukraine did not confirm or deny its involvement in the incident. Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, said on Monday that "while they [Russians] are waging an unjust war of aggression, there are no safe places on their territory" and "the war has already come to the home of every Russo-fascist and every subject of the Russian regime".