The Ukrainian authorities switched to terrorist methods because they could not achieve success in the war zone. The Kiev regime cannot defeat the Russian Armed Forces, so it takes revenge on civilians, Kirill Averyanov, a political scientist and expert on Eastern Europe, named the reason for the attack on Belgorod in an interview with Izvestia on December 30.

«I admit that [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky could have made such a decision without coordination with his Western partners, based on his insanity. At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that there was such an agreement. This issue requires careful clarification from the Russian side,» he said.

Averyanov stressed that what happened brings everyone to a «very dangerous line», which it is important not to cross. But on the other hand, it is important to explain by methods understandable to Kiev that such illegal warfare is unacceptable and will be severely suppressed, the expert concluded.

The office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) Antonio Guterres called for condemnation after the Ukrainian Armed Forces attack on Belgorod on Saturday, December 30, calling strikes on civilian infrastructure and civilians unacceptable.

Earlier that day, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Tatyana Moskalkova, appealed to international bodies with a demand to condemn the Ukrainian strike on the civilian population of a Russian city. She called the incident a terrible tragedy. The Russian Foreign Ministry also called for this. They stressed that the West is behind this strike by the Kiev regime, which also bears full responsibility for it.

Political scientist Oleg Matveichev pointed to the terrorist tactics of the Kiev authorities, saying that «these vile people seek to make a tragedy instead of a holiday.»

The APU hit the center of Belgorod on Saturday afternoon. The city has a single hotline number «122» for receiving applications for all recorded damage and casualties.

According to the latest data, 18 people were killed and 111 people were injured. On behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a team of the Ministry of Health headed by Mikhail Murashko, as well as a group of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, flew to the scene to help the victims.

Upon the fact of the shelling, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a case under articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation «Attempted murder», «Murder», «Intentional destruction / damage to property».