The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, announced on Friday that a fuel storage facility in Belgorod was attacked by Ukrainian military helicopters, marking the first such strike by Kyiv's forces inside Russian territory. Gladkov stated that two Ukrainian combat helicopters struck the fuel storage facility in the city of Belgorod after crossing the border at a low altitude. The governor confirmed that the shelling led to a fire that injured two workers, and residents from some areas of the city near the Ukrainian border were evacuated.
This incident follows explosions at an ammunition depot that shook the area, which Gladkov believes were caused by another fire, adding that local authorities are awaiting confirmation from the Ministry of Defense. A circulating video captured the moment the oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border was hit by Ukrainian military helicopters.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported that Russian forces had killed 148 children due to shelling and airstrikes on Ukrainian cities, launched 1,370 missiles, and destroyed 15 Ukrainian airports since the invasion began on February 24. They added in a statement that more than 10 million Ukrainians had fled their homes.
On Thursday, a senior official at the U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) warned that the focus of Russian military efforts on the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces will face seasoned Ukrainian units, suggests a "long-term" conflict. The official, who requested anonymity, noted: "Russian forces have begun withdrawing from Chernobyl (in the north) and abandoned the Gostomel military airport northwest of Kyiv, but we still believe this is a repositioning." He added: "We have no indication at all of these military personnel returning home or being permanently removed from combat," according to Agence France-Presse.
