Belgorod

 source: Le Nouvel Observateur, in conjunction with AFP

april1, 3:43 pm Paris

translation: GoogleTranslate/doxa-louise

What is known about the attack on an oil depot in Russia where Moscow accuses Kiev

The burnt depot in Belgorod, April 1, 2022. (HANDOUT / AFP)The burnt depot in Belgorod, April 1, 2022. (HANDOUT / AFP)

Moscow points to Ukraine's responsibility for a helicopter attack on an oil depot in Russia, and warns that it could weigh on the talks.

Was there a Ukrainian attack on Russia? A Russian official on Friday (April 1) accused Ukraine  of carrying out a helicopter attack on an "oil depot" in the western Russian city of Belgorod, not far from the Ukrainian border. . An attack neither denied nor confirmed by kyiv.

An attack “carried out by two helicopters”

On his Telegram account the governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, claims that "a fire in an oil depot took place because of an airstrike carried out by two helicopters of the Ukrainian army which entered  Russian territory at low altitude" . He also said firefighters are working to extinguish the blaze and that two depot employees were injured.

According to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, more than 170 rescuers are involved. The ministry released a video showing firefighters in silver thermal suits putting out large burning vats. He said he was notified of the fire at 3:51 a.m. Paris time, and confirmed the toll of two injured.

The public company Rosneft, owner of the premises, claimed to have evacuated its staff, and a director of a typography near Belgorod, also claimed that his company had  been hit by helicopter fire. “  The windows are damaged, equipment is destroyed or damaged […] the roof is damaged ,” he told the public agency TASS.

Belgorod is located about 80 kilometers north of Kharkiv, the second Ukrainian city attacked by Russian forces since the start of the Kremlin offensive, and about 40 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

Ukraine singled out by Russia

The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, accused Ukraine of being behind the attack. This is the first time that Russia has reported Ukrainian helicopter strikes on its territory since the start of the conflict. The spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, Igor Konashenkov, however, did not speak on the subject on Friday.

On Wednesday, explosions had already taken place in an ammunition depot in the Belgorod region, without the Russian authorities clearly explaining the cause of the incident. On February 25, local and Ukrainian media had mentioned a strike by kyiv against a Russian air base near Rostov, without it being officially confirmed.

Ukraine neither denies nor confirms

Ukraine, for its part, refused to confirm being behind the attack. "I can neither confirm nor deny that Ukraine was involved, because I do not have all the military information in my hands ," declared the head of Ukrainian diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba.

Ukraine does not have to "take responsibility for all the miscalculations, all the disasters and all the events taking place on Russian territory" , added the spokesman of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Oleksandre Motouzianyk, also refusing to confirm or not.

An attack that risks weighing on the peace talks

Could this attack, which has not yet been claimed,  be a brake on future talks? “It is clear that we cannot consider this as something that will create the appropriate conditions for the continuation of negotiations  ” , reacted Dmitri Peskov, spokesman for the Russian presidency.

He also reaffirmed that Russia had total control of the air in Ukraine “Our control of  air space during the special military operation is an absolute fact. Regarding the incident [in Belgorod] it will be up to our armed forces to assess it,” he said.

Talks between Russia and Ukraine to end the conflict resumed early Friday afternoon by videoconference, according to Kremlin negotiator Vladimir Medinsky. “We are continuing negotiations by videoconference. Our positions on Crimea and Donbass have not changed ,” he wrote.

 L'Obs with AFP