Ukrainian drones isolate Crimea, leaving it without gasoline and tourists

MoscowUkraine is determined to de facto turn the occupied Crimean peninsula into an island. Early Sunday morning, Kyiv's drones attacked ports on both sides of the Kerch Bridge, the last safe route between Russia and this territory, causing the death of five people and injuring about thirty more. They also hit a ferry and forced the suspension of ship traffic through the strait until further notice. The Ukrainian army's effort to completely isolate Crimea is causing an unprecedented fuel crisis that has pushed local authorities to ban the sale of gasoline and leave the peninsula practically paralyzed. A siege that has also led to shelves emptying in supermarkets and a surge in cancellations of tourist reservations just as the summer season begins.

In recent days, Ukrainian medium-range drones have attacked all the bridges connecting Crimea from the north with the occupied territories. Although they have not destroyed them, they have disrupted the main route supplying the region with goods. Since early June, local authorities had limited fuel supply to gas stations to a maximum of 20 liters per vehicle per week, but this Saturday, the Russian head of the peninsula, Sergei Aksyonov, announced that only public transport and emergency vehicles would be able to fill their tanks.

Grocery stores have restricted the sale of cereals, pasta, sugar, and sunflower oil. “People don't believe the authorities can normalize the situation; they are panicking and hoarding food,” warns a local activist to the opposition media Krim Realii. “Small shops are closing en masse: there are no stocks,” he adds. However, the rulers deny an food crisis. “Crimea fully satisfies its internal food needs,” says Aksyonov.

Fed up neighbors

In statements to ARA, economic analyst Vyacheslav Shiryaev assures that Crimea is only the first link in a fuel crisis that will spread throughout the country and that, to a lesser extent, already affects 53 regions. "It's a vicious cycle that Russia is entering because all its refineries are affected by drone attacks," he explains. He predicts that the lack of gasoline will lead to more logistical difficulties that will translate into a "a more pronounced contraction of the economy".

Transport problems in Crimea have been exacerbated by Ukrainian bombings against trains, which have stopped running at night for safety. The night-time use of motorcycles and scooters has also been banned because their buzzing is confused with that of drones. Without planes, without ferries, without gasoline, and with few trains, millions of Russian tourists have preferred not to go on holiday to Crimea this year, despite it being one of the most popular destinations since the Soviet era.

At the same time, videos of residents fed up with the situation have started to circulate online. “What's the point of living here if you can't go anywhere, breathe the air, or see the sea? I don't understand, I'm leaving,” laments a resident of Sevastopol, in tears. Even pro-Russian activists are pessimistic. “The worst is yet to come; we have to prepare for autonomous survival mode,” says blogger Aleksandr Serguiéiev.

Was life better before the annexation?

Shiriàiev points out that this is "the most difficult period for Crimea" since its annexation by the Kremlin in 2014. Vladimir Putin wanted to keep the war away from this territory, a spiritual cradle of Russia and a symbol of imperial glory, but, according to the analyst, the semi-blockade could precede, in the worst case, a forced evacuation of the peninsula's inhabitants. That is why he sees an outbreak of citizen protests as likely, although he dismisses the idea that people will direct their discontent towards the president. "Unfortunately, they will not demand that the war stop, but rather they will appeal to the authorities to solve their problem," he indicates.

Ruslan Jàdnov, director of the pro-Ukrainian NGO Crimea Activa, points out to ARA that these adversities will mainly affect the region's main social group, apolitical citizens who live off tourism. "We Crimeans remember well that before the occupation we did not have these problems – he comments –; therefore, the number of people who think they lived better before 2014 will increase." According to the activist, the Ukrainian army's effort to isolate Crimea is of "fundamental" importance and constitutes "an important reason to maintain hope" for the eventual reintegration of the peninsula into Ukraine.