Kyiv was placed on red alert after Russia hit petrol stations with jet-powered drones on Thursday and Friday, turning a basic service into a frontline target. On Friday morning, two stations were struck and at least two people were killed, with 12 injured, according to Vitali Klitschko.
Anastasiia Demchenko, who works for a delivery company opposite one of the stations, said, "This is probably one of the most difficult periods of the war because life is just like on a rollercoaster" and added, "It feels like life is on the edge." The attacks landed in densely populated parts of Kyiv during the morning rush.
Ukrnafta stations hit twice
All three strikes so far hit Ukrnafta-operated stations. One station was attacked on Thursday, the first such attack in the capital, and two more were hit on Friday morning. Witnesses said they heard two explosions at the facility in Pochaina in northern Kyiv before local authorities later said Russia had carried out a double-tap attack there.
The pattern is sharper than a single isolated strike. A list of 18 petrol stations in Kyiv expected to be hit by Russian drones started circulating on Telegram on Wednesday, and the three damaged so far were on that list. A reader trying to judge exposure can treat that as a crude targeting map, not a full forecast; it marks the stations already named in advance, but not the next one to be hit. For wider context on how red alerts are being used elsewhere, see Italy Extreme Heatwave Red Alert, Delhi Monsoon red alert, and Uk Heatwave red alert.
Sergiy Fedorenko on civilian targets
Sergiy Fedorenko, the acting head of Naftogaz, said, "There is, and can be, no military objective behind such attacks. This is terror directed at the civilian population, at peaceful people." His remarks fit a wider pattern of Russian attacks on Ukrainian petrol stations in recent months, with facilities in the east and south of Ukraine repeatedly targeted as well.
Kyiv has also been under daily drone and missile strikes since late August, and Ukraine is running low on Patriot interceptors. Volodymyr Zelenskyy was overseas to gather support before what is expected to be a difficult winter; on Thursday he met Mark Carney, who offered support to help boost Ukraine’s drone stocks. The immediate question in Kyiv is not whether petrol stations remain vulnerable — Friday answered that — but which site from the circulating list may be next to face the same kind of strike.
