Ukraine hits Crimea oil and gas infrastructure, fuel sales halted across peninsula

Overnight assault

Ukrainian forces launched a large-scale drone and missile strike on energy and military targets across Crimea and the adjacent Russian region of Krasnodar on the night of 20 June. Explosions and intense fires were reported in the port city of Kerch, where thermal satellite data showed damage at the AEGAZ-Terminal, specialised in handling liquefied natural gas, and at the TES fuel terminal, used for storing and transferring petroleum products including diesel across the Kerch Strait. On the Russian side, a major blaze broke out at Port Kavkaz in the Krasnodar region, a key logistics hub for supplying the occupied peninsula. The Kerch bridge, the main land link to Crimea, was temporarily closed, and ferry service was suspended. Russian-installed governor Serghei Aksionov said four people were killed and 28 injured in the strikes, while Krasnodar authorities reported one fatality on a ferry and a fire at an oil terminal.

Fuel supplies cut off

Starting at 09:00 local time on 21 June, all fuel sales to individuals and businesses were halted across Crimea. Aksionov announced that petrol and diesel would be released only to government agencies "ensuring the vital functioning and security of the Republic of Crimea". The suspension covers cash, card and voucher payments. The move effectively paralyses civilian mobility on the peninsula at a time when the bridge and ferry routes are also disrupted.

Zelensky confirms and claims military damage

President Volodimir Zelenski declared on Sunday morning that the operation was a "just response to Russia's brutal attacks against our people". He said the strikes targeted "the occupiers' military logistics, the oil industry and air defence", and that they hit targets on both sides of the Kerch bridge – maritime logistics used for oil transport in Krasnodar, an oil depot in occupied Kerch, plus military logistics sites and four S-400 radar stations and two Pantsir air defence systems.

Last night, our long-range sanctions targeted the occupiers' military logistics, the oil industry and air defence. All of this is a just response to Russia's brutal attacks against our people.

Strategic pressure on Russian energy

The strikes come as part of a sustained Ukrainian campaign to hobble Russia's oil revenues. A report by US energy consultancy Energy Intelligence estimates that Ukraine has already disabled roughly one‑third of Russia's refining capacity. Just days earlier, a mass drone attack hit a refinery in Moscow, underscoring the expanding reach of the campaign.