Russian official denies reports of massive explosions near Ukraine

The incident was not caused by shelling from the Ukrainian side, the head of Belgorod Region said.

The head of Belgorod Region, which borders Ukraine, has reassured local residents that the two alleged massive explosions overnight were not the result of shelling from Ukraine.

Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram that he had been woken up by two massive blasts. He said there were no casualties or destruction as a result of the preliminary information.

The governor promised to provide more details later in the morning.

I would like to dispel the region's fears that someone or something had flown to us from Ukraine. Gladkov wrote that this is not true.

He stated that the explosions were related to combat missions carried out by the Russian military as part of the special military operation. On Sunday afternoon, Gladkov said a civilian was injured at one of the Defense Ministry's sites in the region.

Moscow has accused Ukraine of cross-border shelling since it launched its military offensive against the neighboring country in late February. Numerous settlements in the Belgorod region have been hit by salvos, with several criminal cases opened by Russia's Investigative Committee.

Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French Minsk Protocol was designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.

The Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was unprovoked and has denied that it was planning to retake the two republics by force.