Russia Intensifies Assault on Ukraine's Petrol Stations

Russia has intensified its assault on Ukraine’s retail fuel network over the past month, striking ordinary roadside stations across the east and south of the country. Fuel-industry estimates suggest that the rate of attacks has risen to about 20 a week, with as many as 200 stations reported to have been hit or damaged in recent months.

The campaign has turned working on a forecourt into one of the most hazardous civilian jobs in eastern Ukraine, where much of the fighting is taking place. Military authorities are urging motorists to fill their tanks and leave as quickly as possible, spending no more than 10 minutes at a station. Russian forces have used Geran-3 attack drones, as well as smaller, long-range fixed-wing drones and, closer to the front line, short-range FPV drones.

At a busy OKKO petrol station, Irada, its 31-year-old manager, watches customers stream into the shop, known locally for its hot dogs. She is a single mother whose relatives remain trapped in Russian-occupied territory. Irada is extremely worried about her safety and says she has little choice but to continue working, despite the danger. She believes they should be paid danger money, but so far, their bosses have offered them nothing except makeshift blast protection installed around the kiosk.

The nearby Vostok Gaz station also narrowly escaped destruction after Ukrainian air defences intercepted a drone above the forecourt moments before it could strike. Sergei, 59, a pump attendant, points to shrapnel marks on the kiosk. He narrowly escaped injury and believes the stations are being attacked in retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. Despite the danger, drivers continue to arrive, watching the sky as they stand beside their cars. Sergei remains defiant, saying that customers still need petrol, and he will not stop working.

The commander of a nearby mobile air-defence unit, Andriy, says that the Russians have changed tactics, targeting civilian infrastructure, and petrol stations are among their priorities. He stands beside a flatbed truck carrying a large Browning machine gun, its barrel trained towards the sky. The jet-powered Geran-3 is reported to travel at about 400km an hour and fly higher than earlier piston-engined attack drones, making it harder for Ukraine’s mobile air-defence teams to intercept. Andriy says their only chance of hitting them may be during their final dive, which does not give them much time. He gestures towards an open crate containing a long cylindrical weapon, saying they now need heat-seeking Stinger missiles to counter the drones.

Dima, 65, an attendant at a petrol station on the main road into Pavlohrad, in Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, shouts to customers to get off the forecourt as the air raid siren wails. He points to an app on his phone tracking Russian drones, now an essential tool for those working on the country’s increasingly dangerous petrol station forecourts. An arrow is moving across the screen, indicating a Russian Geran-3 drone heading in their direction. The previous day, a drone was shot down moments before reaching Dima’s forecourt, crashing instead into a nearby business park. A week earlier, another station at the opposite end of Pavlohrad suffered a direct hit, with several people reported killed or injured.