Most have sandbags at the entrance. Many have shrapnel scars and scorch marks, or have been reduced to burned-out husks. All across Ukraine, gas stations tell the tale of a lethal new front in the war with Russia.

Russian forces have attacked nearly 250 Ukrainian gas stations in recent months, in what officials, analysts and operators say is a systematic and deadly campaign of retaliation for Ukraine’s strikes on Russian refineries. The stations, a beloved and quirky fixture of Ukrainian life, have become objects of anxiety and fear.

Ukraine says its long-range strikes on Russian refineries aim to choke off the revenues that fund Russia’s war machine and pressure the Kremlin to stop the fighting. Russian state news media say the strikes on Ukrainian gas stations are similarly aimed at disrupting “transport logistics” for Kyiv’s forces.

But Ukrainians note that unlike Russian refineries, the gas stations being targeted draw a daily procession of ordinary civilians as customers. Many of the Russian refineries are state-owned or belong to big companies, while many of the gas stations in Ukraine are independent retail businesses.

Though Ukrainian soldiers sometimes frequent the stations, they are not military installations. Striking civilian gas stations has no real impact on military fuel supplies, said Serhii Beskrestnov, a former adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister. “Therefore, the sole purpose of these attacks is to terrorize the civilian population,” he said.