Peskov said that Putin was informed about a fire at an oil depot in Belgorod
The governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov said that two helicopters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out two airstrikes in Belgorod, as a result of which a fire started at the city oil depot, engulfing eight fuel tanks. According to the authorities, no one was injured during the emergency, but because of the fire, residents of houses on three streets near the enterprise began to be resettled in less dangerous places. The Ministry of Energy said that the fire will not affect the cost of fuel and its availability.
What happened
Two helicopters of the armed forces of Ukraine entered Russian territory at low altitude and carried out two airstrikes in Belgorod. This was announced in the morning today, April 1, by the Governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov.
Due to the strikes, a fire started at the city oil depot of JSC Belgorodnefteprodukt, the first information about which was received at 05:51 Moscow time. All emergency services went to the place, the fire was assigned the highest rank of complexity.
The governor first reported that two oil depot workers were injured, but later clarified that there were no casualties. Residents of Pochtovaya, Makarenko and Konstantin Zaslonov streets began to be resettled in the Belgorod Arena until the fire was extinguished.
The infrastructure of Belgorod airport was not damaged after the airstrikes, said Anastasia Golodova, a spokeswoman for the airport.
The governor of the Kursk, neighboring, region, Roman Starovoit, said that he had put all security services on high alert, contacted Gladkov and offered help.
According to TASS, at least seven objects were damaged in two industrial parks of Belgorod. According to Andrey Minaev, Director of the Directorate for the Development of Industrial Zones JSC, several enterprises in the Severny Industrial Park have been de-energized.
"The power transmission line was damaged in the Fabrika industrial Park, because of this, the boiler room and water supply system stopped working, although the enterprises themselves may not have been affected, but the infrastructure was damaged," he added.
How to extinguish a fire at an oil depot
According to TASS, eight fuel tanks, each with a volume of 2 thousand cubic meters, caught fire. In total, there are 27 tanks on the territory of the oil depot.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations told the agency that the fire extinguishing group was increased to almost 200 people, and an emergency response team headed by Acting Minister Alexander Chupriyan flew to the scene of the incident. A fire train and 59 pieces of equipment were also involved in extinguishing.
Firefighters, using armored shields, are focused on cooling tanks not affected by fire.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that they had not detected an excess of the maximum permissible concentration of harmful substances in the fire area.
At 12:35 Moscow time, TASS reported that firefighters managed to eliminate the fire in half of the burning tanks. "The fire has been eliminated in half of all the burned tanks. Extinguishing continues," the agency interlocutor said.
The printing house and the company "Techsapfir" suffered
Local media reported that one of the printing houses in the Belgorod region was damaged as a result of the shelling.
According to him, the rocket hit the building next to the printing house - Rosenergouchet, and the process of mine clearance is expected in the near future.
The Techsapfir enterprise, which, like the printing house, is located on the territory of the Severny Industrial Park, was also affected.
"There was an attack around six in the morning, a number of equipment that was in working condition was damaged, the building was damaged in places. We cannot assess further, because we have all been evacuated, we are waiting for the end of operational work. There are no casualties," Avak Ovagimyan, head of the Tehsapfir organization, told TASS.
In addition, employees of several Belgorod media were evacuated due to reports of mining. According to TASS, such messages were received by " <url>", "Lantern.TV" and "The World of Belogorie".
Why the blow could not be prevented
The first deputy head of the International Committee of the Federation Council, Vladimir Jabarov, on the air of the radio "Moscow Speaks", expressed the opinion that the air defense systems could not record the movement of Ukrainian helicopters, as they flew too low.
He believes that Russia should strike back at the military airfield from which the helicopters flew to Belgorod.
What will happen to gasoline in the region
The governor of the region said that queues for gasoline had formed at local gas stations. Gladkov also said that there are no problems with fuel in the Belgorod region and is not expected, and all suppliers are working normally. The authorities are organizing a change in the logistics supply chains of fuel at the gas station.
Two Rosneft oil depots are located in the region: in Belgorod and Gubkin.
Rosneft reported that fuel reserves at oil depots in Belgorod and neighboring regions will last for 15 days or more, so consumers will be provided in full.
In turn, the Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Nikolay Shulginov said that, if necessary, Belgorod gas stations will be fully supplied with gasoline from the Kursk and Voronezh regions. He also pointed out that the fire will not affect the cost of fuel for consumers and fuel supply in the region.
How will the incident affect the negotiations
According to the press secretary of the president Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin was informed about a fire at an oil depot in Belgorod, measures are being taken to ensure uninterrupted supply of fuel to the region.
He also stressed that the attack on the oil depot does not create a favorable background for the negotiations being conducted by the delegations of Russia and Ukraine.
Journalists asked the Kremlin representative whether what happened near Belgorod was an escalation of the conflict.
"Of course, this is not something that can be perceived as creating conditions comfortable for the continuation of negotiations," Peskov replied. When asked to evaluate the airstrike on the oil depot, he said: "It is not for us in the presidential administration to give any estimates. This should be done by professionals. Air superiority during the operation is an absolute fact, it really is. And as for what happened, it's still not us who should give assessments, but our law enforcement agencies."
Daria Klester
