February 2, 2026

Fire and smoke rise from a home following an alleged overnight drone attack Feb. 2, 2026, in Stary Oskol, a city in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast. (Vyacheslav Gladkov / Telegram)

Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Explosions were reported overnight Feb. 2 in Russia’s Belgorod region, where officials said an alleged Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire in the city of Stary Oskol.

Local residents reported hearing at least six loud blasts in the city’s northern and northeastern areas and seeing bright flashes in the sky.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed that Ukrainian drones attacked Stary Oskol, igniting a fire at residential home.

He also reported that an exploding drone shattered windows in more than three apartment buildings.

Two people had reportedly died in the attack, Gladkov said.

The Ukrainian military has not yet commented on the attack, and the Kyiv Independent could not verify these reports at the time of publication.

Belgorod Oblast borders Ukraine’s Sumy, Kharkiv, and Luhansk regions and is regularly used as a staging area for Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory.

https://kyivindependent.com/explosions-fire-reported-overnight-in-russias-belgorod-region