Drone Attacks on Kharkiv Petrol Stations
Russian drones struck two petrol stations in Kharkiv on Monday, wounding two people, according to Ukrainian officials. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported the attacks on Telegram, describing a strike by an enemy drone on a gas station in the Shevchenkivskyi district and another by an "Italmas"-type UAV in the Kyivskyi district. "The fuel pumps caught fire. Two people were injured: a 51-year-old customer and a 26-year-old gas station attendant," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Emergency services are reported to be on the scene.
A Wider Campaign Against Filling Stations
The Kharkiv attacks are the latest in a pattern of Russian strikes on civilian filling stations across Ukraine. According to the BBC, this campaign began in earnest in April, primarily in front-line regions, and has grown more frequent. In July alone, the Centre for Information Resilience, an open-source investigation group, verified 114 Russian strikes on filling stations, up from 66 the previous month. Analyst Oleksandr Sirenko of the Ukrainian energy think-tank Nafto Rynok counts at least 246 filling stations hit across Ukraine so far.
Mayor Terechov's warning to motorists—"Fill up quickly and move on"—captures the new reality in cities like Kharkiv. Police have issued guidance advising motorists to leave petrol stations and even abandon vehicles when air raid alerts sound, with one regional police force noting, "You can fix your car, but you won't get your life back."
Strain on Fuel Infrastructure and Civilians
The attacks have disrupted fuel supplies. Some key routes, such as the road linking Kharkiv and Dnipro, reportedly have no functioning petrol stations left. In the town of Opishnya, about 120 km (75 miles) from Kharkiv, all stations have been destroyed, and the village chief, Mykola Riznyk, says authorities are now stocking fuel in various locations. In Trostyanets, in the Sumy region, all stations have similarly been destroyed, with local authorities distributing fuel from road tankers that constantly shift locations. In Ukrainian-held parts of Kherson regional government reports almost halficy nearly half the petrol stations have ceased operating; others are attacked nearly daily, according to Deputy Regional Head Oleksandr Tolokonnikov.
Motorists in regions like Mykolaiv describe a fragile new normal. Driver Kateryna Stokolya says stations are stricter about closing during air alerts, but she noted there are no queues or panic-buying. She also expressed a view that the attacks aim "at terrorising the public so we force the government to capitulate or accept agreements that do not favour Ukraine."
Fuel station operators are adapting. Oleksandr Melnychuk of the BRSM Nafta chain says clients no longer browse the shop—they fill up and leave. His company lost eight stations and is rebuilding two. He described building concrete shelters at sites, covering forecourt areas with anti-drone nets, shortening hours, and reducing staff to cope with the risk.
Impact on the Broader Fuel Market
The effect of the strikes goes beyond individual disruptions. According to a National Bank of Ukraine report, 4% of filling stations have been damaged or destroyed, but the impact on the overall market has been small, as sales in safer regions have compensated for the losses.
At the same time, Russia itself has suffered fuel shortages. Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries have caused fuel shortages in almost every region, with the Russian newspaper Izvestia reporting that petrol was available at only 28% of Russian filling stations during the worst of the crisis. Analysts have noted that Russia has shifted to using more expensive Iranian-made Shahed drones, each costing between $20,000 and $50,000. As Oleksandr, who noted that one petrol station took a single drone, the drones cost more than the station itself.