The five times Russia bombed itself in recent months

Russians near Ukraine's borders face the threat not only of airstrikes ordered by Kiev, but also increasingly of missiles mistakenly fired by their own forces, with at least five such incidents reported in recent months.

Earlier in January, Russia even fired missiles into its territory twice in one day, according to Russian news channel ASTRA Telegram.

The news came amid reports that Moscow's military has accidentally dropped ammunition and rockets on its own civilians, writes  Newsweek . 

Below is a summary of five incidents of bombs being dropped on Russian territory, apparently by mistake.

January 3, 2024

There were reports of two Russian missiles landing on territory in the north and south of Russia on January 13.

In the morning, local authorities said that an unidentified device fell between the villages of Pavlovskaya and Atamanskaya in the Krasnodar Territory.

The images showed the object that military analysts later determined was a Kalibr missile intended for the war in nearby Ukraine.

In the evening, another Kalibr missile reportedly landed in a field in the northern Leningrad region, ASTRA reported, but there were no casualties or damage.

January 8, 2024

The incident was described on Telegram by the regional head installed in Moscow, Leonid Pasechnik, as an "emergency discharge of ammunition of the FAB-250 aircraft".

An investigation was launched by Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs and its Ministry of Emergency Situations.

January 2, 2024

Russia's Defense Ministry made a rare admission that one of its warplanes had accidentally hit the village of Petropavlovka in the Voronezh region around 9 a.m. on New Year's Day.

Images showed a large crater in the ground and debris, with six buildings reported damaged.

The Russian Defense Ministry said there had been an "emergency release of aviation munitions".

The governor of the region, Aleksandr Gusev, said that, after the attack in Petropavlovka, some residents had to be moved to temporary housing.

After the incident, the British Ministry of Defense pointed out that Russia's munitions accidents were probably "exacerbated by inadequate training and crew fatigue, leading to poor execution of tactics during missions".

April 20, 2023

A Russian Sukhoi-Su 34 jet dropped a bomb on the city of Belgorod, whose location near the border with Ukraine has made it a repeated target for Kiev.

However, this time, it was Russia that was responsible for a bomb that fell in the city center on April 20, 2023.

It caused a crater, shattered windows in neighboring buildings, damaged power lines and injured at least three people.

Images posted on Telegram by regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov showed the extent of the damage and debris covering the roads.

One message said: "thank God there are no dead".

Russia's Defense Ministry said the incident was due to an "abnormal fall of aviation ammunition".