Russia starts hauling gasoline to the front in the trunks of civilian cars

Russia has begun moving gasoline to its frontline units in occupied Ukraine in convoys of civilian cars, the Ukrainian defense outlet Militarnyi reported. Soldiers filmed themselves loading jerrycans into ordinary trunks, an improvised workaround after Ukrainian drone strikes made fuel tankers too risky to run. Russian forces are also disguising army trucks as civilian vehicles along the supply route to occupied Crimea.

Soldiers filmed the fuel run themselves

A video on the Exilenova+ Telegram channel showed Russians describing a convoy of passenger cars assembled to carry one metric ton of gasoline, Militarnyi reported. A man off-camera says the cars left the city of Kizilyurt in Dagestan, Russia, on the local head's orders, with the fuel destined for Russian units in occupied Tokmak, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The footage shows jerrycans filling the trunks:

Besides the fuel, the drivers carried 1.5 million rubles ($20,900) to buy another batch of gasoline. Fuel keeps Russian frontline positions running: generators power electronic-warfare systems, charge batteries for reconnaissance and strike drones, and run communications gear in dugouts and observation posts.

Disguised trucks and a strained supply line

Russian forces have also begun disguising army trucks as civilian transport because of Ukrainian drone attacks deep in the rear. In northern Crimea, monitors spotted a freshly painted blue Ural truck driven by a man in civilian clothes, still carrying military plates, its oversized body posing as a dump truck.

Explore further

ISW: The strikes will likely cascade into deeper disruption across Russia’s rear supply network

Why Russia is improvising

Ukraine's Defense Forces have intensified drone strikes on logistics trucks and fuel tankers on the roads from Russia to occupied Crimea. The attacks have already forced the occupiers to limit cargo traffic through the occupied part of Kherson Oblast toward the peninsula, and Russia has closed stretches of its own land corridor to keep them clear of strike drones.