Russia has now accused Ukraine of sending attack helicopters across the border to strike an oil storage facility in what has been said to be the first Ukraine attack on the Russian soil since the war broke out.
Ukraine has not confirmed that they conducted the attack on Russia. Analysts have said that this might be blamed on Russian negligence.
A Russian governor at the border region of Belgorod stated that on April 1, Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters crossed the border at low altitude and fired rockets at an oil facility located 25 miles from the border.
The Ukrainian defence ministry has not made a response on this matter. Commentators in Ukraine have indicated that this could be a “false flag” used to justify a Russian scuttle of the ongoing negotiations.
The spokesperson of Kremlin, Dmitri Peskov, said that the attack by Ukraine may hinder the ongoing negotiations. However, he did not announce any concrete response to the alleged attack.
“What has happened is certainly not something that can be perceived as creating conditions comfortable for the continuation of negotiations,” Peskov said.
Social media videos posted on Friday appeared to show a helicopter attack using air-to-ground missiles and then a big fire at an oil depot alleged to be in Belgorod, with flames reaching several metres into the air.
Several firefighters were sent to battle the fire on Friday.
“The fire at the oil depot occurred as a result of an airstrike from two helicopters of the armed forces of Ukraine, which entered the territory of Russia at low altitude,” said the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov. “There are no victims.”
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