Smoke billows in the background following a reported Ukrainian drone attack on a fuel facility in Moscow on Thursday. Photo by Stringer/EPA
June 21 (UPI) — The Russian government on Sunday halted fuel sales to civilians and businesses not considered vital to functioning and security in Crimea.
Sergey Aksyonov, the governor of Crimea, announced people would be turned away from gas stations amid a fuel shortage and logistical difficulties related to the war with Ukraine, the BBC reported.
“Further decisions regarding the current situation in the republic’s fuel market will be announced at a later date,” he said in a post on Telegram.
The announcement came amid new attacks by Ukraine on energy and transportation infrastructure on the Crimean Peninsula, Politico reported. Russia illegally annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, and it has been at the center of fighting between the two countries ever since.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russia’s energy supply in an effort to hobble its defenses and ability to transport troops and machinery. Fuel facilities in the Kerch Strait in Russia’s Krasnodar region have also been attacked.
Aksyonov said a Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot in Kerch killed four people and injured 28.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack was a “just response to Russia’s brutal attacks.”
“Russia understands only strength, and our long-range strength is certainly working for peace,” he wrote in a post on X.