The attack on a Russian oil depot will affect negotiations with Ukraine. That’s what the Kremlin said. “These are not ideal conditions for the talks to continue,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman. Contacts between Kiev and Moscow have since resumed via video connection.
Read everything about the war in Ukraine in this file
Russian authorities reported this morning a bombing by two Ukrainian helicopters on an oil depot in Belgorod, close to the border with Ukraine. Fuel tanks are said to have caught fire. Another explosion was heard in the Russian city around noon.
Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said two people were injured. These are depot workers, their lives are not in danger. The surrounding streets were evacuated.
“The fire in the oil depot was caused by an air strike by two Ukrainian Air Force helicopters. They flew into Russian airspace at a low altitude,” Gladkov said. About 170 firefighters were deployed to fight the flames.
The Ukrainian foreign minister is not yet able to confirm whether an attack was carried out in Belgorod. “I don’t have all the military information,” Dmytro Kuleba said. If the claim is true, it would be the Ukrainian Air Force’s first strike on Russian soil.
The negotiations seemed to be heading in the right direction, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. According to him, Ukraine showed more understanding for the situation in the Crimean peninsula and the eastern region of Donbas. Talks between Moscow and Kiev have since resumed via video link.
Ukraine expects a response to a series of proposals. Kiev proposes a neutral Ukraine, whereby the country renounces NATO membership. The condition is that security against Russia can be guaranteed by other countries. Moscow had promised to curtail military activities around Kiev and Chernihiv.
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