Provocation or clumsiness: expert on Russian missile fall in Belgorod. Video

The day before, on February 15, Russia accused Ukraine of shelling Belgorod, which resulted in civilian deaths and injuries. However, the shelling of this Russian regional center did not come from the territory of Ukraine: the destruction and casualties are the result of Russian air defense.

This opinion was expressed on OBOZ TV by Oleksandr Musienko, head of the Center for Military Legal Studies. He skeptically assessed the likelihood of a deliberate provocation by the Russian Federation, stating that one should not look for provocations where negligence, unprofessionalism and inadequate weapons are most likely to be the cause.

According to Musienko, the shelling of Belgorod, which, according to the governor of this Russian region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, killed seven Russians and wounded 19 others, was the result of Russia's vaunted air defense system. A missile was fired at the regional center as the Russians were trying to shoot down an airborne target in the sky.

"Russia is bringing its S-300 systems to the Belgorod region, which they use against Ukraine and as a means of air defense. Accordingly, the missile - probably from S-300 complex - was fired by the enemy. They are trying to look for our drones there, to counteract us, to launch their own missiles. Thus, it fell on Belgorod. It happens," Musienko said.

When asked by the host whether Russia could have deliberately attacked Belgorod to obtain grounds for new accusations of "terrorism" by Ukraine, the expert ruled out this possibility. In his opinion, one should not look for intent where it comes to what Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan once characterized as "head-butting."

"No, this is, let's just say, a serious mistake. Another one, which they make a lot of. Improper performance of duties plus the improper technical condition, perhaps of the S-300 launcher itself, as well as the untimely repair or the quality of the missiles that were removed from storage or from the warehouses. That's what happened," the analyst emphasized.

However, he believes that this did not prevent the propaganda machine from turning on the heat and launching a campaign to accuse Ukraine of "striking civilians."

"Then there is the information dimension and how they present this news. Of course, no one will say that Russia did it, so they need to blame Ukraine. Well, that's all," Musienko said.

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