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Russia today accused Ukraine of a helicopter attack across its border to blow up a fuel storage plant inside its territory, which would be the first attack of its kind if the news is confirmed.
Ukraine, meanwhile, has neither denied nor confirmed that it is the perpetrator of the attack.
The governor of the Russian border town of Belgorod said today that two Ukrainian Mi-24 army helicopters crossed the border at low altitude and fired their missiles at fuel depots, about 30km from the border.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he could neither confirm nor deny that he did not have such military information, according to Reuters.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry did not respond to calls for comment.
Some Ukrainian commentators said the blasts may have been the result of “negligence on the part of the Russian authorities” or a “staged attack” to justify further mobilization or failure of negotiations.
Reports of “fake attacks” by both sides of the conflict to blame the opponent have been numerous in the five-week conflict.
Today Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that such attacks do harm the peace negotiations, but did not speak of a possible response.
“What happened certainly can not be perceived as something favorable for the continuation of negotiations,” Peskov said.
Videos posted on social media showed helicopter attacks on the plant with two air-to-surface missiles, and then fire after their explosion at the Belgorod plant, whose flames reached several tens of meters high in the air.
Reports said the plant continued to burn until noon today as dozens of firefighters worked to put out the blaze.
“The fire in the depots came from the attack of two Ukrainian army helicopters that entered Russian territory at low altitude. “There were no casualties from the attack,” said Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
So far there have been no other incidents in Belgorod, the city that has served as a hub for Russian military units involved in the conflict in Ukraine. // BBC //
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