A Russian high-explosive aerial bomb (FAB) struck a school building in the village of Bykovka in Russia's Belgorod Region early on November 19.
According to reports from Pepel, citing eyewitnesses, and Astra, citing emergency services, the bomb fell around 6:00 a.m., breaking through the roof and landing in a third-floor office.
No casualties were reported, but Astra noted that neither the students nor staff were evacuated from the premises. Police officers and territorial defense representatives arrived at the scene to assess the situation.
This isn’t the first time the Belgorod region has witnessed such an event.
In late October, a similar bomb fell in the village of Pushkarnoye, just 6 kilometers from Belgorod, though it also failed to detonate.
Reports suggest that such incidents are becoming alarmingly frequent.
Astra estimates that at least 150 high-explosive aerial bombs have been unintentionally dropped by Russian forces across Russian territory and occupied Ukrainian regions in 2024.
These munitions, typically FAB-250 and FAB-500, are intended for use in strikes on Ukrainian regions such as Donetsk and Kharkiv.
Root Causes: Errors and Fatigue
The UK Ministry of Defence has linked these mishaps to a combination of human error and operational fatigue. Errors in arming aircraft before take-off and mistakes by flight crews during combat missions are cited as likely causes.
The rising frequency of such incidents may reflect deeper systemic issues within the Russian military, including crew fatigue and insufficient training of both flight and ground personnel.
