fire oil depot russia
Fire at oil depot in Belgorod Region, Russia.
The fire at an oil facility in Belgorod Region, Russia was caused by a Ukrainian air raid, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Friday morning. The incident was reported amid Russia's military campaign in the neighboring country.

Gladkov said the terminal was struck by "two Ukrainian military helicopters that have entered the territory of Russia while flying at low altitude." The exact details of the incident are yet to be clarified.

The governor said two workers received non-life threatening injuries. The authorities began evacuating people from nearby areas.

Videos from the scene show a large fire raging at the facility.

The governor called the situation with the fuel supply "stable," adding that there "will be no fuel shortages."

Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov similarly said that the fire will not cause shortages or price hikes, adding that Belgorod gas stations will receive fuel from other regions if necessary.

RIA Novosti quoted the emergency services as saying there was a risk of the fire spreading to additional oil storages.

Emergency services said they found no increase of toxic fumes in the air.

Ukraine tight-lipped on alleged attack

Civilian and military officials in Ukraine declined to either confirm or deny on Friday that their military helicopters conducted a successful cross-border raid and attacked an oil depot on the outskirts of the Russian city of Belgorod.

The non-admisson to what could be considered the first major military action by Ukrainian forces on Russian territory in more than a month of open hostilities came from both the country's foreign ministry and defense ministry.

Belgorod is located some 25km from Ukraine's Kharkov region.

A pair of military helicopters, likely Mi-28s, were filmed over the city delivering a missile strike at the depot. The alleged attack set several oil tanks on fire, but did not result in any fatalities, according to the governor. A nearby print shop was reported damaged in the incident as well.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the incident on Friday, saying it did not help efforts to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the hostilities. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak dismissed the sentiment, calling Moscow an untrustworthy negotiator.

Moscow attacked its neighbor in late February, following Ukraine's failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements signed in 2014, and Russia's eventual recognition of the Donbass republics in Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French brokered protocols had been designed to regularize the status of those regions within the Ukrainian state.

Russia has now demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.