Ukrnafta builds blast gabions around Kyiv gas stations after drone raids
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Ukrnafta building drone gabion at its gas station (Photo: Ukrnafta JSC)
National oil operator Ukrnafta has begun installing protective gabions around its Kyiv gas stations to contain blast debris, the company's Board Chair Bohdan Kukura reported on Sept. 14.
The filling network has started building gabion blast barriers [or Hesco bastions - ed.] along station perimeters facing major roadways and pedestrian paths to shield surrounding public spaces from Russian drone impacts.
In the event of a strike on a station site, the stone-filled barriers are engineered to retain explosive shrapnel within the perimeter, drastically shrinking the external fragmentation hazard zone for passing vehicles and pedestrians, the company explained.
"Human safety is the paramount priority for Ukrnafta," Kukura said, adding that additional defense measures are being prepared.
"The company is doing everything possible to protect customers and staff from the consequences of Russian aerial strikes on civilian infrastructure."
Ukrnafta underscored that during air raid alerts — regardless of declared threat severity — all stations immediately halt fueling operations, requiring staff and customers to evacuate the premises.
Recent strikes on Ukrnafta infrastructure
Sept. 6–7: Russian forces launched four drone strikes against Ukrnafta filling stations in a single 24-hour window, hitting two facilities in Zaporizhzhya and one each in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.
Sept. 10: Russian strike drone hit an Ukrnafta station in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district, sparking a large blaze and injuring four civilians.
Sept. 11: Jet-powered strike drones hit two Ukrnafta stations simultaneously on both the right and left banks of Kyiv in the Obolonskyi and Dniprovskyi districts, killing two people and wounding eight others during a secondary double-tap attack.
JSC Ukrnafta is Ukraine’s largest crude oil extraction enterprise, operating an integrated full-cycle structure encompassing exploration, hydrocarbon production, and oilfield support services, alongside the nation's largest fuel retail network. The company manages an asset base exceeding 1,106 oil wells and 131 gas extraction wells.
Its primary institutional shareholders are NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine and Ministry of Defense. Under state management since 2022, the brand encompasses nearly 700 filling stations — ranking among Ukraine’s top three fuel retailers by volume — after consolidating assets earlier run under the Glusco, Shell, and U.Go brands.
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