War in Ukraine: three dead in attacks in Ukraine, five on the Russian side in the Kerch Peninsula

The distribution of fuel at service stations has been suspended in Crimea, the governor of the peninsula occupied since 2014 by Russia announced on Sunday June 21. “Today, June 21, from 09:00, the sale of fuel at Crimean gas stations has been suspended for cash and non-cash payments, as well as for coupons for individuals and legal entities,” announced Governor Sergey Aksyonov. “Fuel will be distributed only to public services that ensure the vital functioning and security of the Republic of Crimea,” he said.

The Ukrainian army targets refineries, pipelines and oil depots in Russia almost every week, an effort aimed at depriving Moscow of revenues from the sale of hydrocarbons, which have been used in particular to finance its war effort in Ukraine since 2022.

The latest, a large refinery in Moscow was hit on Tuesday in a large Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian capital. These strikes often cause spectacular fires, but their impact on Russian production remains difficult to assess. According to a recent report from Energy Intelligence, a US energy research firm, around a third of Russian oil refining capacity was shut down due to the Ukrainian strikes.

Russian strikes in the Ukrainian regions of Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk also left three people dead at a time when, on the Russian side, five people were killed in the Kerch peninsula in a Ukrainian drone attack.