Russian-held Crimea halts civilian gasoline sales after Ukrainian strikes hit fuel infrastructure

Russian-installed Crimean governor Sergey Aksyonov announced on Monday night that all gasoline stations on the peninsula would now serve only state services, ambulances, police and military vehicles. According to France 24, the direct trigger was a wave of accurate Ukrainian drone strikes in the past three weeks against four fuel storage depots near the Kerch Bridge and the large refinery beside the port of Sevastopol. Independent analytical group Black Sea Observer estimates Crimea's fuel storage capacity has fallen to 40% of normal.

Ukraine's Defence Ministry confirmed the strikes and described them as part of a strategy to « systematically disrupt logistical support to Russia's occupation forces ». Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said « these attacks target civilian infrastructure and a rapid response is being prepared ». Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Putin had ordered « deeper integration of air-defence layers over Crimea ».

The economic impact was immediate. Road haulage stalled, the Crimean tourism season effectively collapsed; the hotel association reported bookings down 70% since February. Russia-wide, fuel-chain stress persists: in the Krasnodar and Rostov regions, the per-litre price of A95 octane petrol rose 18% in a week. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, speaking in Brussels, said « these strikes are weakening Russia's occupation system logistically ».