Russian drone strike on gas station in Sumy Oblast kills one man, injures other
A Russian drone killed one man and injured others at a gas station in Sumy Oblast, according to the Sumy Oblast Prosecutor’s Office and the Sumy Oblast Military Administration.
Officials said Russian forces struck the gas station with a drone at about 7 a.m. on March 7, 2026.
A 24-year-old man who was in a car was killed. Another man, 22, was injured and managed to get out of the car himself. He suffered severe burns and is being treated at a hospital.
In the Hlukhiv “hromada,” a local government area that includes one or more nearby settlements, Russian forces also hit a civilian car with a drone, injuring a 47-year-old man.
A police vehicle came under fire in the Bilopillia hromada as officers were traveling to perform security duties for residents in border settlements. Two police officers sustained acoustic injuries in the attack, and the service vehicle was damaged, the National Police reported.
Russian attack targets police vehicle; casualties reportedEmergency services are working at the scenes of the strikes to determine the full circumstances of the attacks and manage the aftermath.
This incident follows a series of recent attacks on essential workers in the region. On February 25, a Russian drone struck a vehicle in the Velyka Pysarivka hromada, killing firefighter Pavlo Kolisnyk as he returned home from his shift.
In early March, an attack on a mobile post office in the Sumy Oblast claimed the life of driver Viacheslav Urchyk. Despite medical efforts throughout the night to treat his severe injuries, he did not survive.
Ukrainian experts point out that countries including China, North Korea, Hungary, Slovakia, Iran, and Brazil assist Moscow in killing Ukrainians in its war against Ukraine by funding the Russian budget through trade.
Previously, the Ukrainian OSINT Varta team, in collaboration with the Lex Talionis project, has published an interactive map containing data on more than 6,000 enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex and their 1.2 million employees. The interactive map provides descriptions of activities and specific developments for each enterprise, as well as a categorization system that allows filtering by type.
Meanwhile, the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that in 2024 China increased sales of ammonium perchlorate — a key ingredient used to produce solid propellant for Iskander missiles. This assistance enabled Russia to triple its ballistic missile production, the report stated. Beijing’s support has bolstered Russia’s defense industrial base, enabling Russian forces to launch salvos of 13 to 18 Iskander-M ballistic missiles in 2026.
Overall imports from China have grown to represent one-third of Russia’s total imports, while Russian oil exports now account for 75% of all oil purchased by Beijing. Analysts specifically highlighted defense-related imports, which provided the Russian military-industrial complex with machine tools, components, and raw materials for weapons manufacturing.
Furthermore, Russia’s defense industry also received computer chips, machine tools, radars, and sensors from China, according to CSIS. These goods are part of a list of 50 items aiding weapons production, effectively compensating for Russia’s limited manufacturing capacity in its defense sector. Other areas of support include the supply of drone hulls, lithium batteries, and fiber-optic cables. CSIS reported that Russian imports from China rose from $190 billion in 2022 to $250 billion in 2024.
In 2024, then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that 70% of heavy industrial equipment and 90% of all microelectronics are sourced from China, which then flows into Russia.
Furthermore, according to recent NATO intelligence data, 80% of all Russian drones consist of Chinese parts.
According to The Telegraph newspaper, Chinese firms supplied sanctioned Russian companies with at least £47 million ($57.4 million USD) worth of parts between 2023 and 2024. Almost a quarter of the value of these supplies went to firms that produce Shahed-type drones.
Moreover, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine stated that China is also providing intelligence to Russia. The Kremlin used this data to prepare missile strikes, particularly against objects belonging to foreign investors, though the specific targets were not clarified. China denies these accusations.
Following the imposition of Western sanctions, Beijing has become a key supplier to Russia of cars, clothing, raw materials, and a range of other goods. In 2023, Russia-China trade turnover set a historic record, exceeding $240 billion, which is more than 60% higher than before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Chinese customs data.
Reuters also reported that China is buying oil and gas from Russia. The average daily volume of oil is more than two million barrels per day. During Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing, the countries signed a document for the supply of 106 billion cubic meters of gas per year to China.
Reuters also reported that tens of thousands of cars are being exported from China to Russia under gray-market schemes that often circumvent Western and Asian government sanctions and automakers’ commitments to exit the Russian market, according to registration data reviewed by Reuters and interviews with five people involved in the trade.
