Ukrainian officials said Russian forces struck a petrol station complex in southwestern Kyiv on Thursday, injuring four civilians and triggering a fire that destroyed at least one vehicle and damaged a neighboring building.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that four people were injured in the attack, while emergency services responded to fires at the petrol station and nearby property.
The strike was the first reported Russian attack specifically targeting a petrol station in the Ukrainian capital, according to Reuters. The incident came as Kyiv continued to face almost daily Russian drone attacks targeting industrial and warehouse facilities in the city and surrounding areas.
Ukrnafta Chief Executive Officer Bohdan Kukura condemned the attack, saying the petrol station had no military purpose.
“There is no military objective in such strikes. This is terror and intimidation of the civilian population,” Kukura said in a statement posted on Facebook.
Emergency workers moved to contain the blaze and assess damage to the station and nearby structures following the strike. The attack added to concerns over the growing impact of Russia’s aerial campaign on civilian and commercial infrastructure in Kyiv.
Russia has increasingly targeted Ukraine’s fuel and energy infrastructure during the war. According to Reuters, Russian forces have attacked around 300 Ukrainian petrol stations in recent months, most of them in eastern regions close to the frontline.
Russian forces also attacked and disabled an oil depot in the Kyiv region in late August, adding pressure to Ukraine’s fuel-supply network.
Ukraine has responded with its own long-range drone strikes against Russian fuel infrastructure. Ukrainian forces have targeted petrol stations, fuel tankers and railway fuel facilities in Russian-occupied areas, as well as oil refineries inside Russia.
The attacks on fuel infrastructure have become part of the wider battle over logistics, with both sides seeking to disrupt supplies that support military operations and the movement of goods.
The latest strike comes amid a renewed escalation in aerial attacks between Russia and Ukraine. Kyiv has experienced nearly continuous drone attacks for almost two weeks, while Ukrainian forces have expanded their own strikes against targets deep inside Russian territory.
The continuing attacks are taking place as diplomatic efforts to end the war remain uncertain. The United States has continued to push Moscow and Kyiv towards negotiations, but major disagreements remain over territory, security arrangements and other conditions for a potential settlement.
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For residents of Kyiv, Thursday’s attack was another reminder that the war continues to threaten civilian areas far from the main frontline.
Although Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly denied deliberately targeting civilians, homes, businesses and other civilian infrastructure have continued to suffer damage during the conflict.
The petrol station strike therefore adds to a growing pattern of attacks affecting fuel and other infrastructure that civilians depend on, as the war enters another period of intensified aerial warfare.
