Russian authorities have accused Ukrainian military forces of attacking an oil depot in the country with the use of an air raid on Friday morning as a United States official confirmed the strike.
A Russian regional governor also said that two Ukrainian helicopters staged an attack on the fuel facility found in Belgorod, which is located 20 miles inside Russia's territory. Video footage of the area showed the storage tanks covered in flames.
US Claims: Ukraine Attacks Russian Oil Depot
The American official who confirmed that the Ukrainian helicopters were behind the attack said they also struck an ammunition depot in the same area. They said that officials in Washington were concerned about how Moscow would react to the alleged aggression.
Many see the attack as a significant move by Ukrainian forces if it turns out to be true, but Ukrainian authorities have not yet claimed responsibility for the strikes. The situation comes as Russian forces continue to attack Ukrainian cities and are accused of blocking food and medical supplies from entering the besieged southern port city of Mariupol on Thursday, as per CBS News.
Despite the confirmation by the U.S. official, Ukraine's top security official, Oleksiy Danilov, denied that his government's forces were behind the attack. Previously, Ukraine has not fired on Russian targets.
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Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov was the first one to accuse Ukraine of the strikes and later followed by Russian defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov who shared details. The latter said that the attack occurred at around 5:00 a.m. Moscow time.
According to BBC, Konashenkov claimed that two Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters entered Russian airspace at extremely low altitude and "launched a missile attack on a civilian oil storage facility" on the outskirts of Belgorod. The official said that the attack damaged some storage tanks and caused the fire.
Denying the Allegations
Belgorod Mayor Anton Ivanov said that fire services had responded to the blaze and worked on extinguishing the last remnants. He said that the attack caused no threat to human life and health and noted that evacuated residents were allowed to return to their homes.
Danilov said that, despite Russian accusations claiming it was Ukraine who was behind the attacks, information that was available contradicted the allegations. Previously, Ukrainian defense ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk did not confirm nor deny Ukrainian involvement in the strikes.
But the official said that Ukraine had its hands full with defending against Russian aggression on the mainland and was not responsible for every catastrophe on Russia's territory. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been briefed regarding the incident. The official noted that the attacks could jeopardize Moscow's peace talks with Kyiv.
On the other hand, Danilov rebutted by saying that while Peskov said the attacks could affect peace talks Russia continued to attack Ukraine's children and women. "These people are kind of sick," Danilov said, referring to Russian officials accusing Ukraine of aggression.
Gladskov said that a second blast had damaged a power line found near the village of Nikolskoye but noted that no resident was hurt. He also posted pictures that showed a crater in a field that was presumably caused by the blast, Reuters reported.
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