Russian-occupied Crimea suspends fuel sales

Fuel stations across Russian-controlled Crimea have halted all sales to the public and businesses, according to the region's Russian-installed governor, Sergei Aksyonov. The suspension, which includes cash, non-cash, and voucher purchases, began at 9 a.m. local time. Fuel will exclusively be supplied to government agencies deemed essential for the peninsula's operations and security. This drastic measure comes in the wake of intensified Ukrainian drone attacks targeting oil infrastructure in Crimea and Russia's Krasnodar region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine's military had struck an oil depot in occupied Crimea and an oil transport facility in Russia's Krasnodar region. Authorities in Krasnodar reported that a drone attack on an oil transport facility resulted in one fatality and a fire at an oil terminal. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have intercepted 239 Ukrainian drones overnight. Ukraine has recently escalated its drone assaults on Crimea, a strategic location housing Russia's Black Sea Fleet. These attacks have disrupted the peninsula's supply routes, contributing to a growing fuel crisis as the holiday season commences. The disruptions have also impacted other critical infrastructure, with a local power grid operator reporting outages due to damage to electricity networks. Ferry traffic across the Kerch Strait, which connects Crimea to the Krasnodar region, was temporarily suspended, and traffic on the bridge linking Crimea with Russia was halted for over nine hours, causing significant delays for 11 trains.

“

Fuel stations in Russian-controlled Crimea halted all fuel sales to individuals and businesses from 9am local time, including cash, non-cash and voucher purchases.