Briefly
On the evening of 7 February, Russian local authorities reported missile strikes on Belgorod and Bryansk regions, reporting damage to infrastructure and outages of heating and electricity. Videos allegedly showing the aftermath of the attacks have appeared online. The Ukrainian side has not commented on these claims so far.
What Russian officials report
Belgorod mayor Valentin Demidov reported strikes on the city and activation of the air defence system; according to him, there is damage to infrastructure facilities, and some districts have been switched to backup power sources.
Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said there had been strikes on the energy infrastructure: according to his statement, work to restore heating in the city is being stepped up and two warming centers have been opened.
Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz claims alleged strikes by "Neptune" missiles and HIMARS systems, which he says disrupted heat and electricity supply in seven municipalities.
"Things have become bleak at the 'Luch' CHP in Belgorod"
— Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC)
Videos and photos purportedly from the moments of the strikes are being published online; their authenticity and chronology require independent verification.
Context: what this means
These reports should be viewed in the broader context of systematic strikes on energy infrastructure in the region. At the end of January and in the first days of February, interruptions to electricity and heating were recorded in border areas, along with large-scale shelling and massive drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.
According to Ukrainian authorities, during the most recent mass attacks substations and lines that the operation of nuclear and thermal power plants depends on were damaged; the Ministry of Energy warned that the coming days could be difficult for electricity supply, and power supply restrictions are being introduced in Kyiv.
Consequences and likely targets
As a rule, strikes on energy facilities pursue two goals: directly worsening living conditions for civilians and creating logistical problems that complicate operations and defense. In border regions, an additional effect can be testing the readiness of air defence systems and the response to shelling.
So far there is insufficient data confirmed by independent sources; videos and reports require verification. This is important for understanding whether these are internal incidents, strikes on Russian infrastructure from Ukraine, or other scenarios that could affect the dynamics of the conflict.
What next
The key question is whether these reports will be verified as facts and how Ukrainian defense and energy services will respond. For Ukraine it is important to monitor developments on the border, record the impact on civilian infrastructure and coordinate information verification with international partners.
Conclusion: the statements and videos alone do not yet provide a definitive picture, but they fit into the overall trend — strikes on infrastructure are changing the operational and humanitarian environment. Vigilance, fact-checking and rapid restoration of services remain a priority.
