Russia claims Ukrainian missile strike on occupied Luhansk, partisans say oil depot hit

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An oil depot was hit in a strike against Russian-occupied Luhansk on June 7, and a fire broke out in the southern part of the city, Atesh partisans reported.

"An Atesh agent reports a succesful hit at an oil depot and a large fire in the Hostra Mohyla area," the partisans said.

Russian occupation authorities claimed that Ukrainian forces likely launched six U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles against the city, "most of which were downed," according to the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.

Russia alleged that residential areas were hit and 20 people were injured.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. The Ukrainian military has not commented on the purported attack.

Explosions were heard in the occupied city at about 11 a.m. Local Telegram channels shared unverified pictures and videos capturing damaged civilian buildings.

An entrance of a high-rise building reportedly collapsed, the state-owned news agency TASS claims.

The reports did not specify whether the damage to the civilian infrastructure was caused by direct hits or fallen debris of downed missiles.

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Russia has occupied Luhansk and a significant part of the region since the start of its war in 2014.

Several attacks against the city have been reported in recent weeks, allegedly targeting energy infrastructure or military targets.

Read also: Gas pipeline damaged in missile attack on occupied Luhansk