Explosion Rocks Russia Days After Ukrainian 'Saboteurs' Cross Border

Residents of a Russian town near the Ukraine border reported witnessing a helicopter attack on a military base on Tuesday, days after Moscow accused Ukrainian forces of crossing the border.

An explosion was reported in Klintsy, a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, some 50 kilometers from the Ukraine border, at around 8 a.m. local time Tuesday, according to local media reports.

A local Telegram channel, Podslushano Klintsy (Overheard in Klintsy), said eyewitnesses reported seeing a helicopter circling above a military unit. The helicopter reportedly fired two shots before flying off.

"A shell hit part of a military base and part of an apartment complex," the channel said.

Local media outlets, including national daily newspaper Kommersant, cited local Telegram channels as saying that one woman was injured, and a residential building was damaged in the explosion.

The governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, said on his Telegram channel that four people were injured and several houses were damaged.

Electricity and water supply was also shut off in the region following the explosion, according to Russian media outlet MK.RU.

Local media outlets reported on the morning of June 11 that a military unit caught fire in a district in Klintsy. The fire was extinguished, and its cause is currently under investigation.

And on June 10, a group of Ukrainian "saboteurs" was accused of crossing into the Bryansk region, News.ru reported.

The latest incident also follows reports of explosions on Monday and Saturday in the Klintsovsky and Starodubsky districts, near the Bryansk region. Russia's iStories independent investigative news outlet reported that on Saturday, a military base was targeted.

Newsweek has been unable to independently verify the reports, and has contacted Ukraine's defense ministry, and Russian authorities for comment.

According to independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper, The Moscow Times, the 28th Separate Motor Rifle Bridge is in Klintsy, and it is part of a motorized infantry division and the Russian Ground Forces' 20th Guards Combined Arms Army.

In recent weeks, multiple Russian regions close to Ukraine's border have reported unexplained explosions at military and industrial sites.

In Kursk, videos posted on social media purportedly showed explosions in the region. Two oil depots in Bryansk were also believed to have been struck by Ukrainian missiles on April 25, and an ammunition depot also caught fire near the village of Staraya Nelidovka in the Belgorod region, Newsweek previously reported.

Kyiv has so far denied accusations from Moscow that it is attacking checkpoints and Russian targets across the border.

The Ukraine war, launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin, has now surpassed the 100-day mark.

Russia's focus now is to seize Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions in full. Clashes are intensifying now in the strategic city of Severodonetsk, which could determine the fate of Ukraine's Donbas region.

Update: 6/14/22 4:00 a.m. EDT: This article has been updated with additional background information.