Ukraine war: Oil facilities burn in Russia ‘after Ukrainian missile strike’

Flames lit up the night sky over Russia in the early hours of this morning after two huge explosions in the city of Bryansk in what is suspected to be a Ukrainian missile strike. 

Emergency services confirmed that a fire was raging at the Transneft-Druzhba Oil Depot and a second, unnamed, facility nearby which is thought to be a military base containing oil storage tanks. Crews were dispatched around 2am to tackle the fires, a press release said. 

Bryansk, which is located around 70 miles from the Ukrainian border, serves as a logistical hub for Russian forces currently fighting for control over Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region while the Druzhba pipeline is the main route through which Russian oil reaches European countries.

Ukraine has not commented on the explosions, but it comes after a series of blasts on Russian soil targeting logistics hubs that have been credited to Kyiv. 

Video of the moment the Druzhba depot went up in flames appears to capture the sound of an incoming missile just moments before a loud explosion is seen. 

Rob Lee, a respected military analyst, said the strike could have been carried out using Tochka-U ballistic missiles fired from within Ukraine which would be capable of ranging both the oil facility and nearby base.

Russian emergency services claimed that no casualties had been caused in the explosions and that no evacuations were necessary because the fires posed no threat to nearby residential buildings.

Images from the early-morning hours in Bryansk showed the fires were still burning as the sun came up. Some 158 firefighters and 51 vehicles were still working to extinguish the blaze around 10am local time.

The Kremlin said an investigation will be launched into what caused the blaze, though it is unlikely to point the finger at Ukraine as doing so would confirm Kyiv’s ability to successfully attack military sites within Russia.

Bryansk region borders Ukraine and the city is some 240 miles from Moscow. Residents were being evacuated from homes in the vicinity of the burning oil depot. 

NASA satellites that track fires show a burning fire at coordinates that correspond to a Rosneft facility some 70 miles north of the Ukrainian border.

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry initially posted details of a fire in the areas of the military facility on Moskovsky Avenue, then withdrew it.

But Telegram channel Voenny Osvedomitel reported that the second fire was presumably at the 120th arsenal of the Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate.

Oil storage tanks caught fire at the oil depot in Bryansk, TASS reported early today.

‘The Emergency Situations Ministry has confirmed there’s a fire,’ the government’s press office said. ‘There’s also a confirmation that it’s the fuel tanks.’

First responders were at the scene. The cause of the fire or fires was not initially confirmed.

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is now well into its third month, with thousands having died and even more being displaced. 

This is the second time Russia has claimed a Ukrainian counter-attack has happened. 

On April 1, Moscow said that Ukraine sent attack helicopters across the border to strike an oil storage facility.

Ukraine denied launching the attack and raised questions about whether Russians did it themselves.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security council, denied responsibility for the attack. 

‘For some reason, they say that we did it, but in fact this does not correspond with reality,’ he said on Ukrainian television.

The news comes after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of hope and victory for his nation during an Easter Sunday address.

Speaking from the ancient St. Sophia cathedral, Zelenskyy said that ‘the great holiday today gives us great hope and unwavering faith that light will overcome darkness, good will overcome evil, life will overcome death, and therefore Ukraine will surely win!’

He said that ‘the Lord and the holy heavenly light are on our side,’ adding: ‘We are going through very difficult ordeals. Let us reach a just end on this path – the beginning of a happy life and prosperity of Ukraine.’

Zelenskyy said that ‘on Easter, we ask God for great grace to make our dream come true – this is another great day – the day when great peace will come to Ukraine.’