Authorities in the breakaway Donetsk Republic have accused Ukrainian forces of destroying four storage tanks and killing one person.
Four oil reservoir tanks are ablaze after Ukrainian forces allegedly shelled the city of Makeyevka in the Donetsk Republic, local authorities reported on Wednesday.
According to the territorial defense forces of the Donetsk People's Republic DPR, one person was killed and two more injured in the attack. Local authorities described this information as preliminary in a short statement posted on Wednesday by Telegram. The message says that each tank could contain up to 5,000 cubic meters of oil. Footage and photos released by the authorities show a column of thick black smoke rising from the burning oil depot. The territorial defense forces advised residents of Donetsk and Makeevka to close their windows and stay indoors.
Ukraine s Unian news outlet has also reported the blaze, citing DPR authorities and videos shared on local Telegram channels. The oil depot provided Russian forces with fuel, according to the report.
Unian said there was another fire in Donetsk, apparently in a warehouse.
The Ukrainian government has not released any official comment on the attack so far.
Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February after Ukraine failed to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state. The Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists that the Russian offensive is unprovoked and has denied that it plans to retake the two republics by force.