Fuel depots struck in western Ukraine, 28 March 2022

What did the strikes on oil depots in western Ukraine amount to on 28 March 2022? Reports from that day and the preceding ones show a pattern of attacks on fuel facilities far from the main front lines.

On 28 March 2022, a Russian missile attack hit an oil depot in the Rivne region, according to the head of the regional military administration. It was the second attack on an oil facility in the region and the latest in a series of similar strikes over the preceding days.

The day before, on 27 March 2022, a missile struck an oil depot in the Volyn region, according to Yurii Pohuliaiko, head of the regional administration. Taken together, the reports described repeated attacks on fuel storage in two neighbouring western regions.

Other reports from the preceding days

On 26 March 2022, in Warsaw, US President Joe Biden said that Vladimir Putin could not remain in power. A senior administration official told reporters within minutes that the president's point was that Putin must not be allowed to exercise power over his neighbours or the region, and that he had not been discussing Putin's rule in Russia or regime change.

Also on 26 March 2022, it emerged that three people had been killed when Russian forces took control of Slavutych in February. The town is home to workers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, according to the local mayor.

Separately, on 26 March 2022, Russia said Azerbaijani forces had entered the Russian peacekeeping zone in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijani officials said it was a false-flag operation by Armenian soldiers. The claims formed part of the 2021–2022 Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis.