Thousands of people were evacuated Saturday in a Russian city after an explosive device was found near the site where a bomb was accidentally dropped by a Russian warplane earlier this week.
About 3,000 people were evacuated from 17 apartment buildings in Belgorod, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border. On Thursday, a Russian warplane accidentally dropped a bomb in the city, causing a powerful blast that injured three people and left a large crater.
The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged that a weapon accidentally released by one of its own Su-34 bombers caused the explosion and said an investigation was underway.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Belgorod province, said Saturday that crews decided to detonate an “explosive object” near the same site, “in the immediate vicinity of residential buildings.” Evacuations ended later Saturday after the bomb was removed, Demidov wrote on Telegram.
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►”Ukraine’s future is in (NATO),” Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of NATO, said at a Friday news conference, adding that leaders of the alliance have agreed Ukraine will eventually join. But he emphasized “the main focus now is, of course, on how to ensure that Ukraine prevails.”
►The U.S. will begin training Ukrainian troops on how to use and maintain Abrams tanks, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday. The tanks are currently being refitted to meet Ukraine’s needs.
Experts report shelling near Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant
Experts stationed at Ukraine’s embattled Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant amid fears of a nuclear catastrophe have heard shelling almost every day over the past week, Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Friday. IAEA experts were also at one point told to shelter at the site because of military activity in the region, Grossi said.
The reports “further underscore the serious nuclear safety and security risks facing Europe’s largest nuclear power plant during the military conflict,” he said.
“I’m deeply concerned about the situation at the plant,” he added.
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Ukraine ‘will surely win’ in war of technology, official says
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, told the Associated Press he is confident Ukraine would out-innovate Russia in a war of technology as both sides vie for advantages.
Unmanned aerial vehicles, electronic warfare, satellite communications and other technologies have been fundamental to the war effort, Fedorov said.
“Technologies allow traditional and modern artillery to be more accurate, and they help save the lives of our soldiers,” he said, adding that Ukraine’s government is planning to invest in more new technology projects.
“In this technology war we will surely win,” Fedorov said.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Contact Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.