A massive blaze engulfed the V. Shukhov Belgorod State Technological University after Ukrainian drones struck the Russian city overnight.
Belgorod sits roughly 40 km north of the Russian border. The drone raid took place between Sunday night and Monday morning. The university was hit directly, and footage from the scene showed flames spreading across the site.
– Everything is burning there, simply everything – one resident said in a video posted on Telegram.
Drone research at the damaged university
Independent Russian Telegram channel Astra reported that the university had developed an automated drone control system using a Milandr microprocessor. University officials responded by stressing that the technology has civilian applications, including monitoring power lines, checking heating networks and conducting aerial photography.
Earlier this summer, the institution opened enrollment for summer sessions of a drone design course. Regional authorities have so far not disclosed the extent of the damage caused by the Ukrainian strike.
Further strikes and a Telegram crackdown
Ukrainian attacks in recent days also reached a Wildberries logistics center in Novosemeykino. That facility, built last year, covers 130,000 square meters.
On Thursday, Russian authorities put Telegram founder Pavel Durov on the Rosfinmonitoring blacklist of „terrorists and extremists.” Being on that list means Durov cannot perform financial transactions inside Russia.
A day earlier, the financial watchdog demanded his arrest, saying he had allowed Ukrainian intelligence services to use Telegram. The FSB has also opened international search proceedings against the 41-year-old. One cited reason is his failure to remove a popular dating bot that Moscow says Ukrainian special services use to recruit young Russians for terrorist and sabotage activities.
Durov has lived outside Russia for years and holds passports from France and the United Arab Emirates. He has spent time in both Dubai and France, where he also encountered legal problems. The entrepreneur has frequently clashed with Russian authorities as Moscow tightened control over the domestic internet. Telegram remains one of the country’s main platforms, though officials have repeatedly tried to block it and steer Russians toward a state-backed alternative that is not encrypted.
Source: Polsat News, Photo: Polsat News
