RUSSIA, BELGOROD OBLAST, Jul. 21 — Attack drones hit a Belgorod dam near Shebekino, a city south of the Belgorod oblast close to the Russia-Ukraine border. The attack caused downstream floods, a local Telegram channel Pepel-Belgorod reported.

According to the channel, the drones attacked the dam on Jul. 19. The dam collapsed across its entire length, with the damaged section measuring approximately 35 meters (115 feet).

The published satellite images attached to the Telegram post show uncontrolled water discharge from the dam and a broken section of the highway bridge that crosses it. Authors write that damage like this makes it difficult to cover the breach in the structure.

Pepel-Belgorod also reported that the floodwaters are rapidly rising in the Nezhegol river running through Shebekino. In the city’s riverside area, flooding is affecting civilian infrastructure.

The water level has also risen in the nearby Bezludovka village, located downstream. Authors say it’s difficult for locals to drive through some streets.

In October 2025, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces had already attacked the Belgorod dam, as confirmed by Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, the commander of the 414th Marine Strike UAV Battalion.

Ukraine didn’t claim responsibility for the attack on the Belgorod dam on Jul. 19 this year as of the time this news article was written.

Attacks on dams might go against Geneva Conventions (Article 56), if the dams are not used exclusively for military objectives. 

In February 2026, Ukrainian prosecutors filed charges against two Russian generals over the destruction of the dam at the Oskil reservoir in the Kharkiv oblast, Ukraine, in 2022.

Since 2025, Russian forces have also attacked the dam of the Pechenihy reservoir in the Kharkiv oblast several times. The most recent attack on the dam took place in April 2026. At that time, local officials reported that a road near the reservoir had been blocked, which made logistics difficult, especially for civilians. No flooding of settlements was reported.

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