Russia targets Kyiv petrol stations for first time with jet-powered drones

Petrol stations in Kyiv have been hit by jet-powered drones in a wave of targeted Russian attacks as the bombardment of Ukraine’s capital enters a new phase of intensity.At least two people were killed and 12 injured in strikes on two petrol stations on Friday morning, according to the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko.The rush-hour strikes follow a similar attack on a petrol station on Thursday, the first of its kind in the capital.At the Ukrnafta petrol station in the Pochaina neighbourhood in northern Kyiv, bystanders said three people had been injured in Friday’s blast – the manager of a nearby car wash, his wife and the driver of a passing car. The blown-out vehicle was stranded by the side of the road, its windows shattered and seats spattered in blood.Witnesses said they had heard two explosions, and local authorities later said Russia had carried out a double-tap attack on the facility.Pochaina petrol station. All three strikes targeted sites operated by Ukrnafta Photograph: Amy Hawkins“This is probably one of the most difficult periods of the war because life is just like on a rollercoaster,” said Anastasiia Demchenko, 30, who works at a delivery company opposite the petrol station. “It feels like life is on the edge.”All three strikes targeted petrol stations operated by Ukrnafta, a state-owned oil and natural gas extraction company.Sergiy Fedorenko, the acting head of Naftogaz, Ukrnafta’s parent company, said: “There is, and can be, no military objective behind such attacks. This is terror directed at the civilian population, at peaceful people.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionA list of 18 petrol stations in Kyiv expected to be hit by Russian drones started circulating on Telegram on Wednesday. The three struck so far were on the list.At the other station hit on Friday, in Desnianskyi district, one of the most densely populated parts of the capital, the manager of a nearby car wash said it had been a miracle that no one had died in the blast.Fedir Lesovin said the air-raid siren had given the petrol station workers time to run to a nearby shelter, and that a customer waiting outside his business saw the incoming drone and also ran to safety.Desnianskyi district petrol station was also hit, in one of the most densely populated areas of Kyiv. Photograph: Amy HawkinsRussia has increased its attacks on Ukrainian petrol stations in recent months. Facilities in the east and south of the country have been repeatedly targeted, but this week’s attacks mark the first time that strikes against a vital part of daily life have been brought to the capital.Ukraine has also targeted Russian oil infrastructure. Its special forces said this week that they had struck facilities at the Caspian Sea port of Makhachkala.Kyiv has been pounded by daily drone and missile strikes since late August, at a time when Ukraine is running low on Patriot interceptors. A brief reprieve for the visit of the US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff over the weekend ended on Monday.The petrol station attacks happened as Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on an overseas trip intended to drum up international support and aid before what is expected to be a difficult winter. On Thursday the Ukrainian president met Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, who offered support to help boost Ukraine’s drone stocks.Additional reporting by Illia Dyadik