Russian-backed authorities in occupied Crimea have suspended fuel sales to the public, restricting supplies to government agencies only, after a Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot killed four people and injured 28 others overnight.
Governor Sergey Aksyonov announced that individuals and businesses would be turned away from petrol stations, with fuel now sold exclusively to organisations ensuring Crimea's “functioning and security”. The move follows weeks of rationing caused by shortages after Ukraine intensified its campaign against supply routes in Russian-occupied territories.
“Russian-backed authorities suspend fuel sales to public in occupied Crimea after Ukrainian drone attack kills four.”
“Further decisions regarding the current situation in the republic's fuel market will be announced at a later date,” Aksyonov said.
The attack on the oil depot in Kerch was called a “just response to Russia's brutal attacks” by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also confirmed that Ukrainian forces had struck a logistics facility for oil transportation in Russia's Krasnodar region, adjacent to Crimea across the Kerch Strait. Local authorities said one person was killed on a passenger ferry there. Military logistics facilities and radar systems were also hit, Zelensky said, without specifying locations.
“Russia understands only strength, and our long-range strength is certainly working for peace,” he wrote on X.
Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, has faced logistical difficulties and shortages for months, but this appears to be the most significant fuel restriction since the occupation began. The peninsula is strategically vital for Moscow's forces, serving as a launchpad for strikes into the rest of Ukraine, and is also a popular summer holiday destination for Russians – some of whom have reported struggling to find petrol to return home.
Zelensky added that at least seven people had been killed in Russian attacks over the weekend, with children among more than 30 injured. Russia's defence ministry said 239 Ukrainian drones had been shot down overnight.
Both sides have escalated attacks in recent months as progress towards a ceasefire has stalled more than four years into Russia's full-scale invasion. Kyiv's strategy has been to choke off revenue for Moscow's war chest by targeting fuel exports, while also undermining the Russian war effort and maximising disruption for civilians, hoping to pressure President Vladimir Putin into negotiations. So far, however, there is little sign he is ready to talk, having rebuked Zelensky's request for face-to-face talks in early June.
In the four years since the invasion began, Ukraine has rapidly developed a booming defence sector, particularly its mid- and long-range drone capabilities.