Russia reports the most massive shelling of Belgorod and damage to energy infrastructure
On the evening of Saturday, 24 January, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Governor of the Belgorod Region of Russia, stated that the city of Belgorod had suffered the most intense shelling since the start of the full-scale war, as he wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to Gladkov, the attack damaged energy infrastructure facilities, and information about the consequences was still being clarified. He also reported that there were no casualties. Similar statements were made by the operational headquarters of the Belgorod region, calling the shelling the most massive, but without explaining the criteria used to determine this.
Local and independent Russian media reported that the Belgorod thermal power plant was hit. According to Astra, the facility was attacked at least twice. Residents of several districts of the city complained of power and water outages. At the same time, the regional water utility said that the systems were operating normally, with only localised disruptions due to power surges.
On 25 January, the Russian Ministry of Defence reported that 52 Ukrainian drones had allegedly been shot down during the night, including three over the Belgorod region. The Russian military did not report the use of missiles.
Belgorod had already experienced large-scale power outages earlier. On 9 January, more than 550,000 residents of the city and region were left without electricity and heating, and about 200,000 without water. At that time, Gladkov called the situation catastrophic and admitted that it would not be possible to fully restore the power system, urging the population to prepare for worsening conditions.
The Russian authorities' statements came amid continued massive attacks by the Russian Federation on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. On the night of 24 January, Kyiv became the main target of the Russian strike. The mayor of the capital, Vitali Klitschko, reported that after previous attacks, nearly 6,000 high-rise buildings were left without heat and water, and severe frosts complicated the situation for residents. Commenting on the strikes on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, US President Donald Trump said that it was impossible to live in such conditions.
Belgorod, Trump, USA, Ukraine
