A strike hit an oil depot on Saturday that caught fire in the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, local officials said, with shootings increasing in recent days in this area. “Another bombardment at home. One of the projectiles hit an oil depot,” said the governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, on his Telegram account. He posted a photo showing heavy black smoke billowing from a burning structure. According to him, the emergency services are currently trying to extinguish the fire. “There is no risk of spread,” assured Mr. Gladkov.
A “significant increase” in Ukrainian fire
The public news agency TASS, quoting an anonymous source in relief, indicated that the depot was located in the locality of Razoumnoye-71, near the city of Belgorod, capital of the eponymous region. Russia denounced last week a “considerable increase” in Ukrainian fire on several Russian border regions, including that of Belgorod, but also that of Kursk and Briansk.
On Friday, a power station in the city of Belgorod, previously rarely hit by fire, caught fire after a strike from Ukraine, causing a power outage, according to the governor. The latter also reported on Friday a bombardment on a village in the region and light damage to local railway infrastructure caused, according to the governor, by the remains of Ukrainian missiles shot down by the Russian army.
On Thursday, a Ukrainian strike had already blown up an ammunition depot in the Belgorod region. The same day, a shot ripped open the top floor of a residential building in the city of the same name, without causing any casualties. A first power outage also occurred on Tuesday after a Ukrainian strike on a power station in the town of Chebekino, in the same region. And, on Monday, a 74-year-old woman was killed in a bombardment on this locality.