Ukraine Responds to Russia's Attack Claims: "Will Neither Confirm Nor Deny Baseless Allegations"

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] After Russia claimed that the attack on the fuel storage facility in western Belgorod Oblast was carried out by Ukraine, Ukraine responded by saying, "Since such claims have been made more than once, we will neither confirm nor deny them."

According to the Guardian and others on the 1st (local time), Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said in a broadcast that day regarding Russia's claim that the fire at the Belgorod fuel depot was caused by their attack, "They claim that we did it, but that is not true."

Oleksandr Motuzianik, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, also said, "I want to emphasize that we are conducting defensive operations against Russia, which invaded our territory," adding, "This does not mean that we should be held responsible for every misjudgment, incident, or disaster that occurs in Russia." He continued, "This is not the first time such accusations have been made. We will neither confirm nor deny this claim."

Earlier that day, at around 5:50 a.m. (Moscow local time), a fire broke out at a fuel storage facility in Belgorod Oblast, about 40 km from the Ukrainian border. Immediately after the fire broke out, the Russian Ministry of Defense accused, "(Ukrainian) helicopters intruded into Russian airspace at a very low altitude and fired missiles at a civilian fuel storage facility on the outskirts of Belgorod Oblast," adding, "This facility has no connection to the Russian military."

If the Russian claim is true, the Guardian reported that this would be the first case since the outbreak of the war in which Ukraine used military aircraft to bomb Russian territory.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.