The gas station was already aflame, when policeman Mykhailo Tsypliakov and his colleagues ran in to help. He heard the buzz of a second drone descending and hit the ground.
“I saw a flash, then got up right away,” Tsypliakov said. “I saw that my arm, legs and torso were injured.”
He’s one of dozens of victims of Russia’s latest campaign against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure: fuel stations. Over two hundred have been hit in June and July, which works out at about three a day, according to Ukrainian officials.
They’re aimed, Tsypliakov said, “to intimidate, to sow fear and panic. Panic is the scariest thing right now. Because when a person panics, they lose control of themselves.”
The attacks have concentrated on gas stations close to the front lines – and within easier reach of Russia’s attack drones. But airstrikes, longer distance drones and closer-range smaller attack UAVs have also added to the toll, hitting targets near the capital Kyiv.
