The war in Ukraine took another twist early on the morning of April 1, as two Ukrainian helicopters appeared to bomb a Russian fuel depot.
If the Ukrainian military claims responsibility for the strike, it would be its first foray into Russian territory. But there has been concern about the attack being a “false flag,” the Guardian reports, designed to scupper planned peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
According to Zero Hedge, the strike on the Russian gasoline depot was quickly reported to news organizations and shared on social media.
In the footage, two Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters can be seen flying low over Belgorod, a city about 25 miles from the Ukrainian-Russian border. Two explosions at the gasoline storage facility are captured in the video shortly after the helicopters fly away.
Several videos released since have shown missiles striking the fuel depot.
The Ukrainian military has yet to claim responsibility for the attack. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister refused to confirm or deny the attack was carried out by the Ukrainian military, according to the Guardian.
The conflict along the border close to Belgorod has been intensifying recently. On March 29, Russia reported missile strikes close to a military ammunition depot on the city’s outskirts.
Until its alleged fuel depot attack, the Ukrainian military had focused its missions on fighting against the occupying force rather than counterattacks.
The governor of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, took to Telegram to reveal details of the helicopter attack.
Gladkov declared that the helicopter strike had hit eight fuel tanks and caused a large fire. The Telegram posts blamed Ukrainian forces for the attack on the depot, Europe World News reports.
“The fire in a fuel depot arose as a result of a bombing attack by two helicopters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which entered Russian territory at low altitude,” Gladkov said.
Russian news outlets are reporting that two hundred firefighters reacted to the incident at the facility. Three tanks have been extinguished, but the fear of the fire spreading remains. Russian media have displayed photographs of huge lineups at gas stations in Belgorod, according to the BBC.
The timing of the fuel depot attack has raised concerns among commentators. A video meeting was planned for April 1 between delegations from Russia and Ukraine, but the occurrence of the peace talks has been in doubt due to the incident.
Ukraine has yet to complete missions inside the Russian border as it focused on repelling invading forces in Kyiv and Mariupol. The attack followed news that Russia had decided to concentrate its special military operation away from the Ukrainian capital, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
