Fuel sales halted in occupied Crimea as Ukraine targets oil facilities

Russian-backed authorities have suspended fuel sales to the public in the occupied region of Crimea as Ukraine continues its attacks on the peninsula. Fuel had already been rationed due to shortages caused by Ukraine’s recent campaign against supply routes in Russian-occupied territories.

Governor Sergey Aksyonov said individuals and businesses would be turned away from petrol stations, and fuel would only be sold to government agencies ensuring Crimea’s “functioning and security”.

Earlier, he said four people had been killed and 28 injured by a Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot in Kerch overnight – which President Volodymyr Zelensky called a “just response to Russia’s brutal attacks”.

Crimea – which Russia illegally annexed in 2014 – has been experiencing logistical difficulties and shortages, but this appears to be its most significant fuel restriction so far.

“Further decisions regarding the current situation in the republic’s fuel market will be announced at a later date,” Aksyonov said.

Zelensky said Kyiv had also hit a logistics facility for oil transportation in Russia’s Krasnodar region, which lies adjacent to Crimea across the Kerch Strait. Local authorities said one person had been killed on a passenger ferry.

Military logistics facilities and radar systems were also struck, the president said, without specifying where.

“Russia understands only strength, and our long-range strength is certainly working for peace,” he said in a statement posted on X.

Zelensky added 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.

Crimea is a strategically important location from which Moscow’s forces have launched strikes towards the rest of Ukraine.

It is also a popular summer holiday destination for Russians – some of whom have reported struggling to find petrol to return home.

Both sides have escalated attacks in recent months as progress towards a ceasefire has stalled more than four years on from Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Kyiv’s focus has been to choke off revenue for Moscow’s war chest by hitting its fuel export.

But it also wants to undermine the Russian war effort and maximise disruption for its population, in the hopes of applying pressure on President Vladimir Putin and bringing him to the negotiating table.

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 Russia’s invasion began, Ukraine has developed a booming defence sector. It has rapidly developed its mid-and long-range drone capabilities and is now offering advice and expertise to allies around the world.

But this success is a double-edged sword.

For every strike that gets through – and embarrasses Putin – there is an inevitable reply.

Specks of black oil rained down on Moscow on Thursday after Ukraine struck an oil refinery in its largest attack of the full-scale war so far.

The people of Kyiv and beyond are now bracing themselves for Russia’s response.

By BBC News