Alleged strike on Russia fuel depot hurts peace talks, says Kremlin

Ukraine has not claimed responsibillty for the blasts amid fears of a false flag attack
A still image taken from video footage shows members of the Russian Emergencies Ministry extinguishing a fire at a fuel depot in the city of Belgorod
via REUTERS

Reports of a Ukrainian strike on an oil storage facility in Russia will not help negotiations to end the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Earlier, the regional governor of the Russian city of Belgorod accused Ukrainian military helicopters of attacking an oil depot in the city.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

It comes amid Western claims that Russia aims to stage “false flag” attacks to be blamed on Ukraine as a justification for continuing the war.

Peskov was asked at his daily press briefing whether the reported attack amounted to an escalation of the conflict.

“Of course, this is not something that can be perceived as creating conditions comfortable for the continuation of negotiations,” he replied, as reported by the Interfax news agency.

Peskov redirected further questions regarding the reported strikes to Russia’s law enforcement agencies, according to the report.

He also said authorities were doing everything to reorganise the fuel supply chain and avoid disruption of energy supplies in Belgorod.

The depot, a facility run by Russian energy giant Roseneft about 21 miles from the border, was set ablaze by an attack that left two people injured, according to a post by Vyacheslav Gladkov on Telegram.

“The fire at the oil depot occurred as a result of an air strike from two helicopters of the armed forces of Ukraine, which entered the territory of Russia at a low altitude,” the governor wrote on the messaging app.

Residents of nearby streets were evacuated as firefighters tackle the blaze, he said.

It comes just two days after the region also saw explosions at an arms storage building.

Belgorod sits just north of the border with Ukraine.

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