Explosions hit SOCAR gas stations in Ukraine’s Zhytomyr region PHOTO

As a result of a series of explosions in the village of Berezyna in Ukraine's Zhytomyr region, two gas stations owned by SOCAR Energy Ukraine sustained significant damage.

The damaged facilities are located on both sides of the Kyiv–Zhytomyr highway, approximately one kilometer from the village, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

According to local residents, the explosions at a furniture factory and other nearby enterprises at the village entrance occurred suddenly, without any prior warning signals. It is suspected that the incident may have been carried out by sabotage groups of the Russian armed forces.

Natalia Chernyakova, a manager who was on duty at one of the SOCAR gas stations at the time of the incident, said the blast wave caused serious damage to the facility. Restoration work has been underway at the site for the past two days.

"It was a regular working day, everything was calm. Suddenly, we heard a very loud explosion. Smoke engulfed everything — we couldn’t see a thing. Later, we realized the facility was heavily damaged. People were in a panic. This happened around 6:00 p.m. Staff and I were on the premises at the time. The station’s façade was completely destroyed, much of the equipment was damaged, the walls were deformed, and the air conditioners, microwave ovens, and ventilation systems were knocked out," Chernyakova said.

SOCAR Energy Ukraine confirmed that damage assessments are currently being conducted for both gas stations.

By Khagan Isayev