Russia is consistently destroying Ukraine’s fuel infrastructure. Following strikes on oil refineries, large tank farms, and other strategic facilities, the enemy has shifted to targeted attacks on gas stations, local fuel depots, and smaller facilities that supply fuel to individual communities and regions.

Today, we are no longer dealing with isolated cases of property damage, but a new stage of systemic destruction of fuel infrastructure. For regional operators, this means the risk of simultaneously losing buildings, tanks, refueling equipment, utility networks, generators, vehicles, fuel stocks, and the very ability to continue operations.

Under these conditions, businesses need to understand not only how to record the aftermath of an attack, but also what compensation they can expect, which programs are available for facility recovery, and which of these do not actually take the specifics of the fuel industry into account.

The Fuel and Energy Business Association (FEBA) has analyzed current state and international mechanisms and prepared a practical algorithm for enterprises whose property has been damaged or destroyed as a result of shelling.

The main conclusion of the analysis: several support instruments already exist in Ukraine, but none of them provide quick and full reimbursement for all losses of a fuel enterprise. Some programs work only if joined in advance, some involve cost recovery, and some do not apply to regular gas stations at all.

After an attack, a business must act in three directions simultaneously

An enterprise needs to:

• Ensure the safety of people and the facility;
• Compile a complete package of evidence;
• Launch all available compensation and recovery mechanisms.

Do not wait for one process to finish before starting another. Appeals to the police, insurer, Export Credit Agency, bank, and the International Register of Damage can occur in parallel, although each of these mechanisms has separate conditions and a list of documents.

First steps for an enterprise after an attack

First, stop the operation of the damaged facility, organize an evacuation, and restrict access to dangerous areas. You must call the State Emergency Service (SES) and the police, and if there are casualties, emergency medical services.

For gas stations, tank farms, and fuel warehouses, it is additionally necessary, if possible without risk to people, to:

• Stop receiving and dispensing fuel;
• De-energize damaged equipment;
• Shut off technological systems;
• Contain any leaks;
• Prevent oil products from entering the soil, sewage, or water bodies;
• Separately record environmental consequences;
• Preserve information about the actual fuel balances prior to the event.

Do not move debris, damaged equipment, or other physical evidence until competent services arrive, unless it is necessary to save lives, extinguish a fire, or prevent further danger. Any urgent work that changes the state of the facility must be recorded on photo and video.

What documents need to be obtained

The enterprise must file a statement with the police and obtain an extract from the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations. The documents must correctly specify:

• The date and approximate time of the event;
• The exact address;
• The name of the enterprise;
• The nature of the damage;
• The circumstances of the attack;
• The presence of fire, explosion, shockwave, or falling debris.

If there is a fire, destruction, explosion, or leakage of hazardous substances, it is necessary to obtain an act, certificate, or other document from the SES. If possible, it is also worth obtaining documents from local authorities, the military administration, or the commission that inspected the facility.

What exactly needs to be recorded

Detailed photo and video documentation must be conducted for:

• Buildings and structures;
• Tanks;
• Fuel dispensers;
• Pumps and pipelines;
• Generators;
• Cash register and server equipment;
• Vehicles;
• Fuel stocks;
• Craters, debris, and traces of an explosion;
• Consequences of fire;
• Soil or water contamination.

For the fuel business, it is important to save not only images but also data from:

• Level sensors;
• Automated accounting systems;
• Fiscal devices (RRO/PRRO);
• Video surveillance;
• Telemetry;
• Shift reports;
• Commodity-transport waybills;
• Accounting and excise records.

It is advisable for the head of the enterprise to create an internal commission, conduct an inventory, and draw up an act for each damaged or destroyed asset. After initial recording, a technical inspection and professional assessment of the direct real damage must be conducted.

You must record all losses, even if a specific program does not compensate for them

The enterprise must separately account for:

• Real estate;
• Tanks and technological systems;
• Production equipment;
• Utility networks;
• Transport;
• Fuel;
• Commodity stocks;
• Expenses for emergency work;
• Dismantling;
• Disposal;
• Environmental cleanup;
• Repairs;
• Downtime;
• Lost income.

This is important because different programs cover different types of losses. What is not compensated by the Export Credit Agency (ECA) can be claimed from an insurer or included in an international claim. It is advisable to create a separate “damage dossier” for each object, storing all acts, photographs, police and SES documents, technical conclusions, valuations, property rights documents, and cost confirmations.

What programs are currently available to the fuel business

1. ECA Program: Works only for future incidents Since January 1, 2026, a state program for partial compensation of property costs for business entities damaged or destroyed by Russian aggression has been in effect, administered by the Export Credit Agency of Ukraine. It is important to understand the main condition: the program does not compensate for losses that the enterprise already had before joining.

The program applies to property located in the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Chernihiv regions. It covers buildings, structures, individual premises, production equipment, and utility networks. However, it does not directly cover fuel, commodity stocks, vehicles, lost income, or downtime. The maximum compensation is up to 30 million UAH per business entity.

2. Insurance Premium Compensation Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1541 provides partial compensation for insurance premiums under war risk insurance contracts. This is not a payout for damaged property; the state partially compensates for the cost of the policy, while the insurance company settles the insurance event.

3. Insurance Payouts If an enterprise already has a valid policy, it is necessary to notify the insurer immediately in the manner prescribed by the contract.

4. “Affordable Loans 5–7–9%”: Funds for recovery, not compensation The enterprise can consider state loan subsidization programs as a source of financing for repairs or equipment acquisition. However, loans must be repaid, and for a completely destroyed gas station, this instrument may be practically unavailable.

5. Grants for the Processing Industry State grant programs for processing enterprises do not apply to regular retail gas stations. They are only relevant for individual enterprises in the fuel-energy sector that meet the criteria of the “Processing Industry” section.

6. International Register of Damage (RD4U) Legal entities can file claims under category C3.1 “Damage, destruction or loss of assets”. It is an important mechanism for documenting total losses, but it does not provide funds today.

FEBA’s Position

The Fuel and Energy Business Association believes that the targeted destruction of local fuel infrastructure requires a separate state response. FEBA advocates for:

• A separate program for restoring damaged gas stations and fuel facilities;
• Quick partial compensation for repair costs;
• Affordable war risk insurance;
• Compensation for environmental cleanup costs;
• Grant instruments for restoring local fuel infrastructure;
• Preferential lending without excessive collateral requirements;
• Suspension of advance corporate income tax payments for destroyed, non-operating gas stations;
• Tax holidays during the recovery period;
• Support for mobile and reserve fuel supply solutions;
• Special conditions for enterprises continuing operations in frontline communities.