Dramatic moment ‘Ukraine attack helicopters blast oil depot’ INSIDE Russia as hero pilots strike back against Putin

THIS is the dramatic moment Ukraine attack helicopters allegedly blasted an oil depot INSIDE Russia as heroic pilots dare to strike back against Vladimir Putin.

A huge fireball erupted at the storage plant in Belgorod as defiant Ukrainian forces appear to take the fight across the border to the tyrant, with initial reports saying two had been injured. 

Moscow has accused Ukraine of managing to slip a pair of Mi-24 attack choppers across the border undetected before unleashing an air strike on the depot, causing a massive explosion as huge plumes of black smoke filled the air.

Footage from several sources appeared to show the facility in the Freida industrial district of Belgorod city just 25 miles from the Ukraine border being blasted.

Another clip seemingly shows two attack helicopters flying away from Belgorod just feet above the ground as a fire rages in the distance.

The governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed the plant - run by Russian energy giant Rosneft - was hit by a low altitude Ukrainian attack helicopter strike at around 5.50am local time.

Just hours after the oil depot was hit, a fresh explosion was reportedly heard at around 1pm local time amid unverified claims a shell hit the village of Nikolskoye in the Belgorod region.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Friday he could not confirm or deny Ukraine's alleged involvement in a strike on the fuel depot.

Responding to a question about the attack at a briefing in Poland, Kuleba said: "I can neither confirm nor reject the claim that Ukraine was involved in this simply because I do not possess all the military information."

If confirmed, it would be the first air strike on Russian soil since World War 2.

Gladkov said: "There are casualties. Two people. They're employees of the oil depot. They've been given first aid and their lives are not in danger.

“We are starting to resettle the residents of Pochtovaya, Makarenko and Konstantin Zaslonov streets to a safer location.”

Firefighters were battling to stop the inferno as some areas in the city were evacuated as black smoke billowed into the sky.

Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had been briefed about the incident.

Peskov said the strike could jeopardise Moscow's peace negotiations with Kyiv.

"Of course this cannot be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for continuing the talks," Peskov said, adding that everything was being done to prevent disruptions in fuel supplies in the city.

Following Kuleba's refusal to confirm or deny Ukraine's involvement, defence ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk declined to comment directly on the strike.

He told a briefing: "Ukraine is currently conducting a defensive operation against Russian aggression on the territory of Ukraine, and this does not mean that Ukraine is responsible for every catastrophe on Russia's territory.

"I will not confirm or deny these allegations."

It comes amid Western claims that Russia aims to stage “false-flag” attacks to be blamed on Ukraine as a justification for continuing the war.

Two days earlier Russia claimed Ukrainian forces had dropped a missile on a munitions depot some 12 miles from the border, also in Belgorod region.

Six missiles hit the facility in Krasny Oktyabr with four soldiers wounded, according to Russian sources.

If the attacks on Russian territory are confirmed as Ukraine, it would mark a significant escalation in the war - and a change of tactics from Kyiv.

Until now, hostilities have been limited mainly to Ukrainian territory.

On the earlier attack, Gladkov claimed: “Six cases of shells … were registered. The most important thing is that there are no victims.”

It comes as Putin's invasion continues to stall, with more than 17,000 Russian troops killed since Putin ordered his butchers to invade on February 24 according to Ukrainian officials.

Russian forces have also lost thousands of vehicles in the war in Ukraine, including around 600 tanks and over 1700 other armoured vehicles.

Many of their burnt-out shells now litter the landscape after being blasted by Kyiv’s forces.

But ingenious Ukrainian mechanics have also been at work repairing ones that can be salvaged to use against Russian troops.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has become one of the main suppliers of arms to their enemy.

Meanwhile, demoralised Russian troops are reportedly switching sides.

Captured Russian soldiers have formed their own battalion, and have been pictured training with their new Ukrainian comrades-in-arms.

In a video posted on the app Telegram, a man claiming to be a former Russian soldier says he is now part of the so-called Freedom of Russia legion.

Last week soldiers in a tank drove over and killed their brigade commander, Colonel Yuri Medvedev.

Meanwhile, a UK spy chief has revealed Russian forces are sabotaging their weapons and refusing to carry out orders amid surging Red Army deaths.

Bizarre footage appeared to show at least two Russian soldiers being abandoned by their comrades who speed off in a "Z" marked truck in a chaotic retreat from Ukraine.

And it's reported Chernobyl is back under the control of Ukrainian troops after Russian forces formally gave up the nuclear plant.

Vladimir Putin “massively misjudged” how hard conquering Ukraine would be but is bent on his “personal war” - even as his poorly fed and armed soldiers are giving up.

Telling footage showed despairing conscripts complaining of being “thrown into the s**t” with 1940s rifles that do not work.

Planes have been accidentally downed by friendly fire and Russia’s “command and control is in chaos,” GCHQ boss Sir Jeremy Fleming has said.