The sky over a Ukrainian village near Kyiv turned black after a Russian air stike on a fuel storage facility.
Satellite images from Maxar show thick smoke billowing from a huge fire at the site of the attack in Kalynivka, some 25 miles south of the Ukrainian capital, on Thursday night.
AFP reported that the fire continued into the next day.
Russia said it fired “Kalibir high-precision sea-based cruise missiles” at the fuel depot, which it claimed was the largest remaining fuel base of the Ukrainian military.
Kalynivka is an agricultural village with a population of around 5,000.
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Residents fear it would be further targeted if the stalled Russian offensive on Kyiv were to restart.
A fuel storage facility burns after Russian attacks Kalynivka on Friday
(AFP/Getty)
Nearby Vasylkiv has been hit before – a Russian strike in the early days of the war hit an oil field in the town – but Friday’s attack is unlike anything the people of Kalynivka have experienced before.
Motorists drive near Kalynivka while smoke rises in the background after the attack on Friday
(AFP/Getty)
One resident told AFP the explosion shattered windows in several houses.
A man is pictured near the site of the attack in Kalynivka
(AFP/Getty)
Tamila Ivanyuk, 57, told the news agency: “We saw the explosion and the blazing fire. It was very scary.”
Russia went on to target Ukraine’s fuel supply again on the weekend.
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Hundreds of miles to the west, Russia was reported by local officials in Lviv to have attacked a fuel storage depot on Saturday.
Local residents were to told to stay indoors as thick plumes of smoke rose from the wreckage of the facility.