Ukraine launched drone strikes on oil storage and refinery facilities in Crimea overnight, targeting the infrastructure that fuels Russia’s war effort. The attacks came as a fresh package of UK-led sanctions squeezed the Kremlin’s access to global energy markets, raising the stakes for ordinary households already battered by rising fuel costs.
The strikes hit a major oil depot near Sevastopol and a refinery in Feodosia, according to Ukrainian military sources. Satellite imagery confirmed large fires at both sites. Russia’s defence ministry claimed it had intercepted most drones, but admitted “several” had reached their targets.
For workers in Britain, the ripple effects are immediate. Sanctions on Russian oil have already pushed petrol prices above £1.50 a litre in many regions, hitting drivers in the North and Midlands hardest. “Every time they turn the screw on Putin, we feel it at the pump,” said Margaret Toms, a delivery driver from Hull. “But then you think about what Ukraine is going through. It’s a mess with no easy fix.”
The UK government has pushed through 1,800 new sanctions on Russian-linked companies since the invasion, including a ban on importing Russian oil products last December. The latest measures target entities that help Moscow bypass the price cap, including shipping insurers and intermediaries in the UAE and Turkey. Treasury analysis suggests the cap has already cost Russia £8 billion in lost revenue.
Yet the pain is not one-sided. European refineries that once relied on Russian crude are now paying more for alternatives from the Middle East and Africa. The International Energy Agency warned this month that global refining capacity is stretched, keeping margins high for producers but squeezing consumers at the checkout.
Union leaders in Britain have begun linking the cost-of-living crisis to the war effort. “Workers are being asked to shoulder the burden of sanctions while energy firms rake in record profits,” said Rachel Thompson of the Unite union. “If we are serious about standing with Ukraine, we need a windfall tax on oil companies to shield families from the fallout.”
In Ukraine, the strikes are a reminder that Crimea remains a frontline. The peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, has been used as a launchpad for missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and a hub for resupplying troops in the south. Kyiv has vowed to degrade Russia’s logistics chain, hitting fuel depots and ammunition stores deep behind enemy lines.
But the strategy carries risks. Russia has responded by striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure, leaving millions without power during winter. The UN estimates that half of Ukraine’s energy grid has been damaged. In Kyiv, rolling blackouts have become routine, forcing families to huddle in subway stations for warmth.
Back in London, foreign office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan defended the sanctions strategy: “Every barrel of oil we keep off the market is a blow to Putin’s war chest. We know there are costs at home, but the cost of inaction would be far greater.”
For now, the price of bread and petrol continues to climb. The Bank of England predicts inflation will remain above 5% through the end of the year. And in the pubs and chip shops of working-class towns, the question lingers: how long can ordinary people keep paying the price for a war they never asked for?
