Now Russia is bombing Russians as well: Ministry of Defence reveals Putin's airmen are repeatedly attacking their own civilians with massive glide bombs by mistake

Russia accidentally dropped a 500kg bomb damaging 30 houses and ten cars injuring five people in their own territory,  the Ministry of Defence has confirmed. 

In a Defence Intelligence Update, the Russian fighter jet 'accidentally released a FAB-500 munition on a civilian area in Belgorod on May 4 - on the Russian side of the border. 

It was later reported that the regional governor Vyachaslav Gladkov said Razdobarkina Street in Belgorod had been damaged by an explosion. However he had refused to reveal the suspected cause of the blast. 

The MoD said the damage showed the destructive power of the munition. 

A Russian aircraft has accidentally bombed a village on its own side of the border with Ukraine with a 500kg 'smart' bomb

The UK Ministry of Defence said the botched attack was one of several recently carried out by Russian forces 

According to the MoD: 'This is not an isolated incident. On February 18, a FAB-250 was reportedly released on Soloti in the Belgorod area which led to the evacuation of 150 residents.

'Media outlets suggest that such discharges are fairly common with 20 lost munitions accidentally dropped in the Belgorod region alone between March and April 2024. 

'These incidences indicate Russia's continued inability to successfully employ their munitions on intended targets. 

'Such errors have destructive and lethal consequences for the Russian population.' 

Meanwhile in Kyiv, Ukrainian air force pilots are expected to receive their first F-16 fighter jets in June or July.   

Ukraine has sought U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to help it counter Russia's air superiority for more than two years of war. The source did not say which country would supply the jets.

So far, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium have committed to sending F-16s to Ukraine.

The bomb was reportedly delivered by a Russian Su-25 ground attack aircraft

Ukraine is hoping to deploy the first F-16 attack jets in June or July to counter Russia's air superiority

Illya Yevlash, spokesperson for the air force, said this week that some Ukrainian pilots were completing their training to fly the warplanes.

The pilots and ground staff have been trained by Ukraine's Western partners for months.

The Ukrainian military has had to rely on a relatively small fleet of Soviet-era jets as it has fought to hold back Russia's full-scale February 2022 invasion.

With Russian forces slowly advancing in the eastern Donbas region and mounting a fresh assault in the northeast near the city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials see the addition of the F-16 as a vital upgrade for its Air Force.

Russia has converted old 'dumb bombs' into glide bombs to increase their accuracy. But UK defence officials said the level of malfunctions affecting the munitions and their reliability