Kyiv Claims Successful Strike on Command Post in Russia’s Belgorod Region

In the city of Gubkin, Belgorod Oblast, Russia, the command post of the Sever military grouping was successfully struck, Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) reported on Wednesday, Nov 20. Residents of Gubkin observed thick black smoke, noted its odor, and heard loud explosions.

Videos circulating online show dense black smoke, likely after the strike. However, HUR did not specify the exact timing of the attack. The intelligence service also did not disclose details about the method of the strike or its potential consequences.

Nonetheless, military intelligence concluded its message with the now customary: “For every crime committed against the Ukrainian people, there will be an appropriate and just retribution.”

The Sever military grouping was formed from border forces in the Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod regions. It was led by Colonel General Alexander Lapin, who previously ordered the dissolution of the defense council of Kursk Oblast before Ukraine’s intensified operations in the region.

According to the media outlet Informational Resistance, the Sever grouping initially included the 11th Army Corps and units of the 6th Combined Arms Army, with plans to incorporate formations from Karelia and the Leningrad region.

The group reportedly had up to 48,000 personnel, over 350 tanks, approximately 950 artillery systems, and several operational-tactical missile systems. Its area of responsibility covered northern Kharkiv and Russia’s border regions.

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The Ukrainian military regularly reports that Russian forces are resorting to ‘meat assaults,’ sending wounded or poorly trained fighters into battle as cannon fodder.

This is not the first attack on a Russian city. In September of this year, Gubkin experienced a Ukrainian drone strike, which damaged residential buildings and vehicles, though no injuries were reported.