Two Ukrainian military helicopters struck a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod on Friday, a Russian official said, making the first accusation of a Ukrainian air strike on Russian soil since Moscow invaded its neighbour in late February.

Video images of the purported attack posted online showed what looked like several missiles being fired from low altitude, followed by an explosion. Reuters has not yet been able to verify the images.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is the first air strike by a foreign country in Russian (or Soviet) territory since World War II. https://t.co/j7MJKBThHT

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) April 1, 2022

The helicopters struck the facility in Belgorod, some 35 kilometres (22 miles) from the border with Ukraine, after entering Russia at low altitude, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on messaging app Telegram.

The resulting blaze injured two workers, Gladkov added, while some areas of the city were being evacuated.

An oil depot is on fire in #Belgorod, #Russia.

“The emergency services went to the place of fire, measures are being taken to eliminate it”, said Gladkov, the governor of the region in his Telegram channel. pic.twitter.com/ey7rC5ChSz

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 1, 2022

However, Russian oil firm Rosneft, which owns the fuel depot, said in a separate statement that no one was hurt in the fire, though it gave no information on its cause.

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Local residents managed to film helicopters that, according to #Russian media reports, attacked an oil depot.

It is currently impossible to verify the authenticity of this video. pic.twitter.com/1avZ7k55xu

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 1, 2022

Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said the incident would not affect the region’s fuel supplies or prices for consumers.

The governor of the neighbouring Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, said its fuel supplies were sufficient to last several weeks and called on the population not to stockpile fuel.

⚡️⚡️⚡️Local authorities blame the fire at an oil depot in #Belgorod on an air strike by the #Ukrainian Armed Forces. pic.twitter.com/uRFbIGIuRn

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 1, 2022

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the general staff and the foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

An ammunition depot near Belgorod caught fire on Wednesday, causing a series of blasts. At the time, Gladkov said authorities were waiting for the Russian defence ministry to establish its cause.

Moscow calls its intervention in Ukraine “a special military operation”.

Source: Reuters