Crimea halts public fuel sales after Ukrainian drone strikes

Russian-backed authorities in occupied Crimea have halted fuel sales to the public after Ukrainian drone strikes hit oil facilities on the peninsula and in Russia’s nearby Krasnodar region, killing at least five people, officials said.

Sergey Aksyonov, Crimea’s Moscow-installed leader, said individuals and businesses would be turned away from petrol stations and that fuel would be sold only to government agencies responsible for the region’s “functioning and security.” Fuel had already been rationed because of shortages linked to Ukrainian attacks on supply routes in Russian-occupied territory.

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

Aksyonov said four people were killed and 28 injured in an overnight Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot in Kerch, a port city at the eastern tip of Crimea. Local authorities in Russia’s Krasnodar region, just across the Kerch Strait, said a separate drone attack on an oil transport facility killed one person on a passenger ferry and set an oil terminal ablaze.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Kyiv had struck an oil depot in Kerch and a logistics facility for oil transportation in Krasnodar. He called the attacks a “just response to Russia’s brutal attacks” and said military logistics facilities and radar systems had also been struck, without saying where.

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

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said 239 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight.

Reports of explosions and fires spread across social media channels in Crimea. Al Jazeera reported that the Telegram channel Krymsky Veter described a fire at the Kerch fuel depot and a large cloud of smoke over the city. Russian authorities closed the bridge linking Kerch with Krasnodar to traffic overnight.

The fuel restrictions appear to be among the most significant imposed in Crimea since shortages began. Moscow-appointed Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram that fuel deliveries were being delayed and that a petrol allocation to private motorists scheduled for Sunday had been cancelled. He said fuel was available only for official services. A local power grid operator also reported outages in several areas after damage to electricity networks, according to Al Jazeera.

Crimea, which Russia occupied and annexed in 2014 after a disputed and internationally rejected referendum, has been used by Moscow to launch attacks on the Ukrainian mainland since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The peninsula is also home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and is a popular summer holiday destination for Russian travellers.

The BBC reported that some Russian tourists have struggled to find petrol to return home. Al Jazeera reported that Crimea’s tourism sector predicted millions of tourists would stay away from the peninsula this summer as the fuel crisis deepens.

Ukraine has intensified attacks on oil and fuel infrastructure in recent months, targeting supply routes and facilities used by Russia. Zelenskyy said at least seven people were killed in Russian attacks over the weekend, with children among more than 30 injured.

Both sides have escalated strikes as progress toward a ceasefire has stalled more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. The BBC reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin rebuked Zelenskyy’s request for face-to-face talks in early June.