Russian missile strikes Ukrainian civilian oil depot south of Kyiv, official says

Vasilkov, the location of the oil depot, is about 24 miles south of Kyiv

A suspected Russian missile strike exploded at a civilian oil depot outside Kyiv early Sunday morning local time, Ukrainian officials said, near the start of the fourth day of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

"A missile attack launched on the oil depot in Vasilkov near Kyiv," Ukrainian MP Anna Purtova told Fox News around 2 a.m. in the region. 

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She described it as an "ecological catastrophe." 

She also called on the U.S. and European Union to implement a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace. 

The sky south of Kyiv was visibly illuminated after an oil depot attack 24 miles away in Vasilkov early Sunday. (Fox News)

Another look at the illuminated sky after an oil dept attack early Sunday morning in Ukraine. (Fox News)

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She also provided video from the scene that showed clouds of smoke billowing upward. 

The clouds of smoke were so thick they blocked out some of the light from the burning fuel.

Fox News’ Trey Yingst, reporting from Kyiv, shared an image that showed the burning plant's glow as it illuminated the night sky from miles away.

Ukrainian servicemen take positions at the military airbase Vasylkiv in the Kyiv region, Ukraine, on Feb. 26, 2022.   (REUTERS/Maksim Levin)

The Kyiv Post, an English-language Ukrainian newspaper, condemned the attack as "another war crime" and shared video taken closer to the scene that showed smoke billowing into the night sky.

Vasilkov is about 24 miles south of Kyiv. The city is also host to a Ukrainian military airbase.

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A couple of hours later, The Associated Press reported that Russian forces also blew up a gas pipeline in Kharkiv, a large population center near the Ukraine-Russia border where Ukrainian defense forces have held their ground.  

Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.

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