No power, no water, no fuel - Ukrainian attacks bring darkness to Crimean summer

Interviews with residents of Russian-controlled Crimea show frustration with Moscow, as Ukraine's campaign to isolate it is negatively affecting daily life.

First, the tourists stopped coming. As Ukrainian drones and missiles pounded Crimea throughout the spring and summer, Russian tourists began canceling reservations at the small guesthouse in Yevpatoria, a resort town on the Black Sea coast of the peninsula, run by Marina.

Then, fuel became scarce, making it harder to supply businesses with food and other essential goods. Now, electricity and water are cut off for most of the day, just as the summer heat has begun.

“For 12 years they told us that Crimea was 100% protected,” Marina said, referring to promises Russian officials have made since they seized the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. “And then, within a month, they took us back to the Stone Age, with no electricity, no water, no fuel,” she added.

Since the beginning of this year, Kiev has waged its largest and most sustained air campaign against Crimea, striking both the peninsula and the land and sea transport links that connect it to Russia. The daily lives of residents have been affected to an unprecedented degree since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Crimea was the first region under Russian control to experience severe shortages of fuel for vehicles, shortages that later spread to other parts of Russia. Kremlin-installed authorities declared a state of emergency last month and temporarily banned the sale of fuel to private drivers in an effort to preserve reserves for the military and emergency services.

also World June 21, 2026 Ukrainian attacks in Crimea prompt ban on fuel sales to civilians there

But as Ukrainian drones increasingly targeted the peninsula's energy infrastructure, the crisis quickly went beyond a lack of fuel. According to an analysis by The Guardian, more than 70% of Crimea's roughly 2.5 million residents have experienced power outages, with many having gone days without electricity or water.

Interviews with dozens of residents across Crimea show a growing sense of abandonment and frustration with the Russian-installed authorities, but also with Moscow, as Kiev attempts to turn the peninsula “into an island,” cutting off its land, sea, and logistical links with Russia.

The festivals, summer camps and beach activities that once filled Crimea's tourist season have been canceled. In their place are long lines for gas and the daily search for a place to shower or charge your phone.

"We are surviving, we are not living," said one resident.

Aleksei, a native of Crimea who supported Russia's annexation of the peninsula in 2014, says his restaurant has been almost empty this summer as tourists have stayed away, while shortages and disruptions to supply routes have made it increasingly difficult to secure fresh produce from outside the peninsula.

"The authorities kept insisting that Crimea was ready for anything. Literally, for anything. It turned out that the authorities were not prepared for the worst-case scenario," he says. "People are looking for fuel as if it were 'The Hunger Games.'"

Like others who spoke to The Guardian, Aleksei asked that his last name not be published for security reasons.

Crimea is home to one of the most pervasive and repressive security apparatuses in Russia, which has made many people afraid to speak out. Public expressions of discontent are rare.

However, comments under officials' posts on social media have been filled with pleas for help from people who say they cannot contact relatives, cannot buy food, or are unable to cope with the long power outages.

"Belogorsk has been without electricity for more than 70 hours and all we get are promises," read one of dozens of comments addressed to the Russian-installed leader of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov.

Local Telegram groups have become improvised survival guides, where residents share information about where fuel has arrived, set late-night alerts for when coupons are issued, distribute maps with the shortest lines, and inform each other which neighborhoods still have electricity or water.

Strategic territory for the Kremlin

Since being invaded by Russia in 2014, amid the unrest of the Maidan Revolution in Ukraine, which overthrew the country's pro-Russian president, Crimea has become one of the most strategically important territories for the Kremlin.

In 2022, it became the main base for the invasion of southern Ukraine, where Russian forces advanced much faster than during their failed offensive towards Kiev. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Crimea's military infrastructure has been used for air strikes and support for front-line operations. Moscow has also encouraged hundreds of thousands of Russians to settle on the peninsula.

The 2014 annexation of a region that many Russians consider a desirable destination with a warm climate and beaches boosted Russian President Vladimir Putin's popularity. For years, annual celebrations marking Crimea's "return" have been used as staged demonstrations of Russian military might and a revival of national pride.

also World 12 August 2026 Ukraine suspends attacks on oil tankers in Black Sea at US request

By seizing Crimea, which the Kremlin has long portrayed as the crown jewel of Putin's rule, Ukraine hopes to strengthen its position in any future peace negotiations, says Rob Lee, a military analyst and senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

“Ukraine has more leverage in future negotiations than it did before because it can now reliably strike almost any target in Crimea,” says Lee.

Ukraine has focused attacks on key transport routes supplying Crimea, particularly the Novorossiya highway, a key logistical corridor connecting the peninsula to the Russian Rostov region through the occupied cities of Melitopol and Mariupol.

According to an analysis of verified footage of the attacks by French open-source intelligence analyst Clement Molin, Ukrainian forces hit more than 240 Russian military trucks during the first week of July alone.

Ukraine has recently escalated its campaign against Russian ships in the Sea of ​​Azov. Over the past week, the Ukrainian military said it had hit 90 vessels that Russia was using to supply the occupied peninsula.

In a recent interview with independent Russian journalist Dmitry Kolezev, a Russian general, who was not identified by name, said that Ukraine's recent successes are partly the result of Moscow shifting resources from defending Crimea to its offensive in the Donbas.

According to him, while the military leadership is focused on taking the remaining parts of Donbas, Crimea has fallen to "third or fourth" place on Russia's list of priorities.

Rob Lee says that Ukraine has managed to produce a large number of medium- and long-range drones, making it increasingly difficult for Russia to defend itself against them all.

"The cost of these drones is quite low, so it is not too expensive for Ukraine to continue carrying out these attacks," he said.

Military analysts on both sides believe that Ukraine in the coming weeks is likely to intensify its campaign against the Kerch Bridge, which opened in 2018 to connect Crimea to Russia, with the aim of deepening the standoff on the peninsula.

Push for Ukraine

The successes in isolating Crimea have given Ukraine a much-needed morale boost at a time when Russian forces continue to make slow but steady advances on the battlefield, recently coming close to taking the strategic town of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine.

For Moscow, the crisis on the peninsula is an embarrassment that it cannot hide or easily resolve. Instead, the Kremlin has tried to downplay the situation.

During a meeting with senior officials last week, Putin instructed the government to urgently provide subsidies to Crimea and Sevastopol to finance fuel purchases and reduce gasoline prices on the peninsula.

"These are temporary problems," he said.

also World 10 August 2026 Ukraine attacks Russia, at least 13 dead and about 40 injured

But in Crimea, many residents said the Kremlin's assurances have only deepened their disappointment.

"We are constantly told that these are just temporary problems," said Dmitry, a university student. "We have been living like this for weeks. This is not normal life and it cannot continue for much longer."