William Molinie
Moscow attributes to Ukraine the helicopter strikes on an oil depot in the Belgorod region of kyiv, about forty kilometers from the Ukrainian border, which neither denies nor confirms. On February 25, local and Ukrainian media had mentioned a strike by kyiv against a Russian air base near Rostov, without it being officially confirmed.
Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out a helicopter strike on its soil this morning about 40 kilometers from the border. The target is a fuel depot in Belgorod. If the attribution of this strike is uncertain at this time, the images exist. They were broadcast early this morning on social networks. On these amateur videos, presented as filmed in Belgorod, we see a helicopter firing missiles, then a major explosion.
The Russians have not won the supremacy of the sky
But we do not see precisely if it is a Ukrainian aircraft. There had already been detonations on Wednesday in an ammunition depot in the region without the real cause of the incident being known. But this morning, the Russian governor clearly attributed this bombardment to the Ukrainian army. The Kremlin quickly reacted indicating that this would not improve the negotiations.
For its part, kyiv does not confirm but does not invalidate this strike either. If proven, it would be the first time that Russia would be targeted on its territory by the Ukrainian army. And that would demonstrate that contrary to what they claim, the Russians have not won the supremacy of heaven.
In this hypothesis, the objective for the Ukrainian general staff would be symbolic. Showing that he is capable of hitting the Russians at home, above all, it allows him to remobilize his soldiers tired by more than a month of war.