Kyiv city authorities are discussing whether to force petrol stations to stop operating during air raid alerts after Russian forces repeatedly struck filling stations in the capital, according to Kyiv City Council deputy Volodymyr Bondarenko.
Bondarenko told the Apostrophe broadcaster that Kyiv is already seeing systematic destruction of filling stations by Russian forces, and that halting their operation during alerts is being discussed as a way to avoid casualties.
He said there had been several hits on petrol stations in Kyiv over the previous two days alone.
Why a full ban is not possible
Bondarenko said it is not possible to relocate filling stations elsewhere, but some form of protection should be provided, primarily by the businesses that own the sites. He said Kyiv cannot be entirely covered with anti-drone netting, so the operating regime becomes the main way to make the situation safer.
He said officials understand that businesses can decide for themselves whether to keep operating during a yellow danger level.
At the same time, he added that because filling stations are high-risk sites, they should also stop working during a yellow danger level, meaning when there is a drone threat.
Bondarenko said officials will most likely discuss an operating regime under which filling stations do not work during air raid alerts, since they are targets for attack. He added that the strikes in question hit stations belonging to one network, with three hits in a row over two days, which he said already looks like a pattern.
Safety near residential areas
Asked about the many filling stations located near residential blocks, Bondarenko said their design and placement follow state building codes, including fire safety rules, so there is no threat to nearby buildings. He said supporting walls at the sites prevent flames from spreading, and that no case has yet been recorded of fire spreading beyond a filling station to nearby buildings.
Recent strikes on Kyiv
According to UNIAN, a fire broke out on September 10 at an Ukrnafta filling station in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district, near the Respublika shopping mall, following a strike. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a drone had crashed onto the site of the filling station in Holosiivskyi district, injuring three people.
In early August, it was reported that Russian forces had struck almost 250 filling stations across Ukraine in recent months.
