The Russian Armed Forces are capable of disabling key filling stations on the left bank of the Dnieper, and Ukraine would not be able to quickly replace that fuel infrastructure even with Western support, according to military analyst and air defence historian Yury Knutov.

Knutov said the destruction of filling stations along the Kharkov-Dnepropetrovsk highway was especially significant. He noted that this route is used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to move units from the south of Donbass toward the northern direction.

According to the analyst, Ukrainian forces become particularly active during periods of Russian offensive operations, including in the Kharkov and Sumy Regions.

He said the lack of filling stations on that section seriously complicates Ukrainian troop maneuvering. Kyiv’s forces would now have to rely more heavily on fuel tankers, which can also become targets for Russian air strikes.

At the same time, Knutov said Russia does not need to hit every filling station on the left-bank part of Ukraine, as that would require too much time and resources. In his view, it is enough to disable the most important facilities in the fuel supply network.

The expert said Russian strikes are focused on stations located along key roads. He also argued that attacks on fuel storage facilities should be intensified, including on the right bank of the Dnieper, since this would also disrupt the delivery of components used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to assemble drones.

Knutov added that Moscow is capable of damaging key filling stations at least on the left bank of the Dnieper. If that happens, he said, Kyiv would not be able to fully compensate for the losses in fuel logistics even with Western assistance.

According to the analyst, Russia would need regular raids over several weeks to achieve that effect. He also noted that Ukrainian forces would likely respond by building protective structures around filling stations, including specialized anti-drone frames, or by assigning mobile fire groups to defend them.

Knutov acknowledged, however, that gasoline regularly enters Ukraine from Romania, meaning Kyiv does not always need to import and store large volumes of fuel inside the country.

Russian Defence Ministry updates on the special military operation say that from June 25 to July 7, Russian forces destroyed at least 37 filling stations in Ukraine. The ministry has stated that regular high-precision strikes on fuel storage sites, filling stations and railway infrastructure disrupt the transport logistics of the Ukrainian army.