Belgorod tragedy: 15 dead as building collapse fuels speculation

15 people died, and at least 20 were injured in the construction disaster in Belgorod, Russia. Overnight between Sunday and Monday, the Ministry of Emergency Situations announced that the body of the 15th victim was pulled from the rubble. Rescue teams continue to search through the debris. It's reported that about 16 flats were destroyed.

Photos posted on social media suggest that one high-rise staircase was utterly destroyed, leaving the others seemingly untouched.

The region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, stated that the collapse was caused by a "direct hit by a missile." Nonetheless, the Russian Ministry of Defence countered this by saying the building was struck by fragments of a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile downed by air defence forces.

The BBC reports that various Russian authorities have so far presented differing explanations for the explosion and the collapse of the staircase. The Investigative Committee of Russia claimed the missile struck the building as a result of an attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and has opened a "criminal case" regarding an act of terrorism.

However, as the BBC notes, support for other theories is more common on social networks. These include an internal explosion or the "irregular landing" of aerial ammunition from a Russian bomber, instances of which have occurred before.

Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, highlights a camera video showing the explosion. Since no falling objects are visible, he stresses that Russian accusations of a bombardment by the Ukrainian Defence Forces are currently baseless.

He suggests the block could have been purposefully destroyed since this incident closely resembles a provocation by Russia or an informational provocation aimed at escalating the situation to justify further attacks on residential areas in Ukrainian cities.