Three soldiers were killed and 16 others injured in a barracks in western Russia's Belgorod region as a result of a heavy explosion.

Eight other men have been missing since the incident, which took place on Saturday in the region bordering Ukraine, the Russian state news agency Interfax reported on Sunday, citing rescue services.

According to the information, a non-commissioned officer accidentally detonated a hand grenade, after which a fire broke out in the building.

He suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital.

The Internet portal Baza, in turn, reported that the man handled the grenade in a cultural center that had been converted into a military headquarters near the city of Korocha in order to gain authority in front of military personnel under his command.

The dead and injured are said to be mobilized recruits.

Other portals also wrote that the fire also caught a weapons store and caused the ammunition to explode there.

The various statements could not initially be verified independently.

After the devastating Russian rocket attack on a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday, the number of dead has risen to at least 30, according to the authorities.

73 people were injured, including 13 children.

Dozens of other people were still missing the next day on Sunday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyj expressed his condolences to the bereaved and called for more weapons from the West on Saturday evening.

The attack on Dnipro, in the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk, was the most momentous of several attacks on Saturday.

There were air alerts throughout the country at times.

It was the first major Russian attack of this kind since the turn of the year.

The leadership in Kyiv sharply condemned the attacks and once again spoke of "Russian terror".

bottlenecks in the power supply

In addition, many Ukrainians faced even greater power problems than before after the fierce wave of Russian attacks.

After the massive attacks, Ukraine also prepared its citizens for increased problems with the electricity supply.

Nationwide, the already significantly reduced amount of electricity per household in many places had to be further reduced on Sunday in order to avoid major bottlenecks, the state electricity network operator Ukrenerho announced on Facebook.

Even emergency shutdowns are not excluded.

In addition to Dnipropetrovsk, the region around the capital Kyiv and Kharkiv in the east of the country were also affected by the Russian shelling.

Russia's Defense Ministry did not comment on the many civilian casualties.

Instead, ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov only said on Sunday with regard to the latest attacks: “All designated objects were hit.

The aim of the strike was achieved.” Ukrainian media accused the Russian side of being cynical about this statement.

Great Britain agrees to supply main battle tanks

Great Britain was the first NATO country to pledge western-style main battle tanks to Ukraine.

They want to send 14 Challenger 2 battle tanks to Ukraine in the coming weeks.

The timing is opportune, as Russia “is on the defensive due to supply shortages and dwindling morale (of its troops),” the government said in a statement in London on Saturday evening.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak therefore wanted to "encourage allies" to launch their support for Ukraine planned for 2023 "as soon as possible in order to achieve maximum effect".

This puts Germany and other allies under pressure.

Over the weekend, the Ukrainian ambassador Oleksii Makeiev urgently appealed to the German government to quickly clear the way for the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks.

"We have very little time to discuss," he told the German Press Agency.

"German weapons, German tanks are essential for survival."

But there are doubts as to whether Germany can even deliver quickly itself.

The armaments company Rheinmetall pointed out that it would take about a year to repair old Leopard 2 tanks.

Stoltenberg expects more arms deliveries

According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Ukraine can expect further commitments for heavy weapons in the near future.

"The recent commitments for heavy war equipment are important - and I expect more in the near future," Stoltenberg told the "Handelsblatt".

When asked whether Germany would have to move after Britain's tank announcement, Stoltenberg said the war was at a crucial stage.

"It is therefore important that we arm Ukraine with the weapons it needs to win - and survive as an independent nation."