Ukraine rejects Kremlin claim it sent helicopters to attack oil depot in Russia

Russia has claimed that Ukraine sent attack helicopters across the border to strike an oil storage facility in what, if confirmed, would be the first raid on Russian soil since it launched its invasion.

Ukraine denied that it launched the attack, raising questions about whether Russian negligence may be to blame.

A Russian governor in the border region of Belgorod said that early on Friday two Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters crossed the border at low altitude before firing rockets at an oil facility 25 miles from the border.

The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov fuelled those rumours by saying the attack could hamper negotiations, although he stopped short of announcing any concrete response to the alleged attack.

Video posted on social media on Friday appeared to show a helicopter strike using air-to-ground missiles, followed by a major fire at a facility said to be in Belgorod, with flames reaching dozens of metres into the air.

Reports showed that the facility continued to burn until midday on Friday. Dozens of firefighters were dispatched to battle the inferno.

Other videos showed the helicopters, the model of which is used by both Ukraine and Russia, flying in the region. None of these videos have been verified, however.

Russia has claimed cross-border shelling from Ukraine before, including an alleged attack on an air base in February and an incident last week that allegedly killed a military chaplain, but not an incursion of its airspace. The depot, run by Russian energy giant Rosneft, is about 21 miles from the Ukraine border.

There have been other incidents in Belgorod, which has served as a major hub for Russian military units involved in the invasion of Ukraine.

There was an explosion earlier on Thursday at the site of an arms depot there, raising speculation that saboteurs were targeting the city.

The Russian news agency Tass reported that four service personnel were injured because of that explosion.