Two of Ukraine's military helicopters struck a fuel storage facility in the Russian city of Belgorod on Friday after crossing the border at low altitude, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The resulting blaze injured two workers, Gladkov added, while some areas in the city, located close to the Ukrainian border, were being evacuated.
He said that two people were injured in the fire. "There are injured, two people. Oil depot workers. They received first aid, their lives are not in danger," Gladkov said.
Staff of the Belgorod oil depot, where fuel reservoirs are burning, has been evacuated, Rosneft representative said, adding that there were no casualties.
"The staff was evacuated from the oil depot, there were no casualties. Rosneft Deputy main executive director departed to the scene. The company is cooperating with the Ministry of Emergency Situations and law enforcement agencies," the representative said.
Eight fuel tanks are on fire at an oil depot in Belgorod, a source in the emergency services said. "Currently, eight fuel tanks are on fire with a volume of 2,000 cubic meters each. There is a threat of flames spreading," the source said.
According to the Ministry of Emergency situations, the fire was reported at 05:51 Moscow time. Fuel reservoirs are ablaze, firemen seek to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby reservoirs. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry added that the firefighting contingent had been increased to 170 people and 50 units of equipment.
