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- Ukraine has denied attacking an oil plant in Russia as analysts cautioned to be aware of a ‘false flag’ attack
- The air strike on the facility in western Russia made the Kremlin threaten to walk away from peace talks
- Ukrainian forces have attacked an oil facility in Russia, Russian regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claims
- Gladkov said the site in Belgorod was attacked by Mil Mi-24 helicopter gunships, with two workers injured
- Footage appears to show the attack at 5.43am local time and helicopters flying away from the burning site
- Belgorod, home to 369,000 people, is just 25 miles from the Ukrainian border, and 50 miles from Kharkiv
- It would be the second time that Ukraine has attacked inside Russia after the Millerovo airbase strike.
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Ukraine has denied responsibility for an attack on an oil plant in Russia that made the Kremlin threaten to walk away from peace talks.
Russia’s defence ministry said two Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters were responsible for an attack this morning on a fuel depot in the city of Belgorod, western Russia, but added the facility did not supply fuel to the military.
In its statement, the ministry said the two helicopters attacked after crossing the border at an extremely low altitude
EXCLUSIVE: ‘I did nothing… well almost nothing’: Madeleine McCann ‘official suspect’ Christian Brueckner breaks his silence over her disappearance in shock letter sent from his prison cell , and other top stories from April 24, 2022.PauseFull-screenYet Ukraine’s top security official denied the accusations.
There were initial fears it was a false flag after claims Russia would try to justify an escalation of conflict or an excuse to walk out of peace talks by staging an attack within its own territory.
Ukraine has said it was not responsible for the daring blitz in what was the first air strike to target Russian soil since WWII.
The helicopters reportedly fired S-8 rockets at a Roseneft depot, the area’s regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Several nearby businesses were also reportedly hit.
Speaking on national television, Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said: ‘For some reason they say that we did it, but according to our information this does not correspond to reality.’
Previously, Ukrainian ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk had refused to deny whether they were behind the attack.
He said: ‘Ukraine is currently conducting a defensive operation against Russian aggression on the territory of Ukraine, and this does not mean that Ukraine is responsible for every catastrophe on Russia’s territory… I will not confirm or deny these allegations.’
Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba added: ‘I can neither confirm nor reject the claim that Ukraine was involved in this simply because I do not possess all the military information.’
Meanwhile, Oleksiy Arestovych, an aide to Ukraine’s president, said Kyiv was concentrating on repelling the enemy.
‘For what’s happening on Russia’s territory, the responsibility lies with Russia, and it’s up to them to deal with what’s happened there,’ he said in a video on Twitter.
Video shared on social media appeared to show the attack happening at 5.43am local time, followed by helicopters flying away from the blaze, although analysts have noted Russia uses the same time of helicopters as Ukraine.
Russia has now threatened to walk out of peace talks after the attack, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying: ‘Of course, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of negotiations.’
Peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials resumed via video but Moscow warned that the helicopter attack would hamper negotiations.
It comes as Ukraine is making gains within its own borders, recapturing the two strategic villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka on a main supply route, while Putin is continuing to send units back to Belarus and to the Donbas where he is now concentrating his war effort. - Ukraine DENIES attacking oil plant in Russia as Kremlin threatens to WALK OUT of peace talks | Daily Mail Online