A Russian Shahed drone struck a petrol station in Zaporizhzhia city on June 24, 2024, killing one person and injuring three others [2].
The strike is part of a broader pattern of attacks on civilian infrastructure. The United Nations warned that civilian deaths in June 2024 were the highest in more than four years, with at least 265 people killed [1].
Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Ivan Fedorov said the drone hit the fuel station, which caused vehicles at the site to catch fire [1, 2]. The blast resulted in one fatality and three injuries [2].
Other reports from the region on the same day indicated a volatile security environment. Some reports mentioned a strike on a nine-story residential apartment block that injured three people, while other accounts noted two civilians were wounded in a car near a shopping centre [2].
These incidents coincide with a period of intense drone warfare. The UN data suggests a sharp escalation in the loss of non-combatant life throughout June 2024 [1]. The targeting of energy and fuel infrastructure remains a central component of the ongoing conflict in the Zaporizhzhia region.
“Civilian deaths in June 2024 were the highest in more than four years”
The strike on a petrol station in Zaporizhzhia underscores the continued vulnerability of civilian energy infrastructure to long-range drone attacks. The spike in civilian casualties reported by the UN indicates a shift toward higher-lethality strikes or a decrease in the effectiveness of civilian protections during the summer of 2024.
