Ukraine was accused of bombing a huge oil depot in Russia on Friday, the first reported revenge airstrike on enemy soil, after being bombed almost continuously during 37 days of war.
Videos showed a hail of rockets piercing the night sky in Belgorod around 6am – and then a huge fire raging at the warehouse in the Russian town some 21 miles from the Ukrainian border.
“The fire in the oil depot is the result of an airstrike by two helicopters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which entered the territory of Russia at low altitude,” wrote the governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov on Telegram.
Ukraine did not immediately acknowledge the accusation – the Kremlin warned it could hamper peace talks between the nations, which were due to resume on Friday.
“Of course, this is not something that can be considered comfortable conditions for the continuation of negotiations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Agence France-Presse.
Videos show a huge fire raging at the warehouse in Belgorod. telegram
Gov. Gladkov initially said two staff members were injured but said in an update that “there are no casualties”. Russian energy giant Rosneft, which owns the plant, also said there were no casualties.
All workers were quickly evacuated and at least 170 firefighters were fighting the blaze, the company and local officials said.
The Kremlin warned that the alleged attacks from Ukraine could hamper peace talks between the nations, which were due to resume on Friday. Pavel Kolyadin/BelPressa/Handout via REUTERS
Locals in Belgorod quickly rushed to gas stations, forming huge queues, the regional governor said, while insisting “there are no problems with fuel in the region and never will be”.
Russia has previously reported shelling from Ukraine, including an incident last week that killed a military chaplain, but no intrusion into its airspace.
Russian energy giant Rosneft, which owns the plant, also said there were no casualties
Ukrainian authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The strike came after Ukraine’s Defense Ministry posted a social media video pretending to announce Oscar-like awards for its military achievements.
Ukraine did not immediately acknowledge allegations of having bombed the depot. telegram
best picture was given a video of Russia’s warship being blown up the Orsk bringing military supplies into battle while cinematography was at its best for “a kiss from stinger” with footage of a Russian helicopter being shot down.
The suspected airstrike on Friday also came as Ukraine claimed Russian troops were forced to evacuate the heavily contaminated Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Ukraine’s state-owned energy company, Energoatom, said the Chernobyl withdrawal came after soldiers received “significant doses of radiation” while digging trenches in the forest in the exclusion zone around the closed facility. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it could not independently confirm the exposure claim.
According to the UK MoD, Ukrainian forces have also recaptured Sloboda and Lukashivka, two villages along a main supply route between the beleaguered northern city of Chernihiv and the capital Kyiv.
Ukraine has been under attack for almost 40 days.
With mail wires