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Russian occupation forces have introduced strict fuel rationing for mobile fire groups and air defense units stationed in the temporarily occupied Kherson region and Crimea, according to the partisan movement ATESH, as reported by UATV English via Telegram.
ATESH said the fuel restrictions specifically impact units responsible for defending Russian positions against Ukrainian drone attacks.
“They’re issuing fuel by the teaspoon. You can only start the vehicle if it’s for a combat mission. The rest of the time the equipment just sits idle. If you run out of fuel on the road, you simply abandon the vehicle and run to the nearest trench or village to wait out the drone threat,” said one ATESH agent embedded in an air defense unit near Chonhar.
The movement reported similar fuel shortages across several Russian units, including the 1096th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment of the 22nd Army Corps, mobile fire groups stationed along the R-280 highway near Chonhar in occupied Crimea, and air defense and drone units belonging to Russia’s 49th Combined Arms Army in occupied Kherson region.
According to ATESH, Russian crews are frequently dispatched with fuel tanks nearly empty. When they run dry en route, they reportedly abandon their vehicles and proceed on foot.
The group noted that such incidents have been documented along the rear-area highway connecting Henichesk and Skadovsk, where abandoned military vehicles remain exposed until Ukrainian drones spot them.
As previously reported, Russian forces have also resorted to smuggling fuel by hiding tanks inside grain trucks throughout Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories.
