Ukrainian helicopters have bombed a fuel storage depot in western Russia sparking a huge fire, the regional governor said Friday, in the first reported air strike by Kyiv on Russian soil.

The Kremlin said the Ukraine air strike on Russia will hinder talks taking place 37 days into Russia's military campaign in Ukraine that has killed thosands and displaced more than 10 million people

The strike in the Russian town of Belgorod marked the first time Russia has reported a Ukrainian airstrike on its territory since the conflict began.

"There was a fire at the petrol depot because of an air strike carried out by two Ukrainian army helicopters, which entered Russian territory at a low altitude," Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on messaging app Telegram.

Images showing large plume of smoke, flames erupt from fire at Belgorod oil depot. Video: AFP

Two employees at the storage facility were injured in the fire, he said in another post.

Some 170 firefighters were battling to put out the enormous blaze, which started around 6 am (0300 GMT), the emergencies ministry said. 

A massive fire was raging, with black and white smoke billowing overhead, a video released by the ministry showed.

Russian energy giant Rosneft, which owns the facility, said it had evacuated staff from the premises.

Firemen working to extinguish a fire at a Rosneft fuel depot in the town of Belgorod. Photo: AFPFiremen working to extinguish a fire at a Rosneft fuel depot in the town of Belgorod. Photo: AFP

Long lines of cars waited at filling stations but the governor urged residents not to panic buy, saying there was enough petrol.

"There aren't any problems with fuel in the region and there won't be any," Gladkov said.

Earlier this week, explosions could be heard from an arms depot in Belgorod but the authorities did not provide any clear explanation for the blasts.

Belgorod lies around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Russia's border with Ukraine and some 80 kilometres from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, which has been pummelled by Russian forces since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine on February 24.

Separately, the Russian defence ministry said that Moscow had destroyed six military facilities in Ukraine, including five depots containing ammunition, rockets and artillery weapons.

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