Ukraine hits oil depot in Russian-controlled city, says local leader

Ukrainian forces attacked an oil storage depot on Tuesday night and set a huge fire, injuring five people on the outskirts of the Russian-controlled city of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, the region’s leader said.

“Late at night, the enemy made an attack on the peaceful city of Luhansk, shelling an oil storage depot on the outskirts of the city,” Leonid Pasechnik, head of the Luhansk People’s Republic, appointed by Russia, wrote in Telegram.

He later reported that five warehouse employees were taken to hospital. All units of the local division of the Russian Emergencies Ministry were mobilized to put out the fire and keep nearby buildings safe.

Pasechnik suggested, without providing any evidence, that the attack had been carried out by a US-supplied ATACM (Army Tactical Missile System).

There was no official Ukrainian statement regarding the incident.

A video posted on Russian and Ukrainian war bloggers’ websites showed a large fire some distance away from apartment buildings.

Ukrainian war bloggers reported the attack, with one suggesting it was carried out by a missile.

Russia-backed and financed separatist fighters took control of large parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine in 2014 after Moscow annexed Crimea.

Pasechnik became head of the breakaway region before Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia annexed both regions — as well as the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — although it does not have full control of either.