Crimea faces severe fuel shortage as Ukrainian attacks disrupt supply lines
Ukrainian drone strikes have increasingly targeted logistical routes, bridges, fuel depots and oil‑tankers that supply the Russian‑occupied Crimean peninsula. The campaign has isolated the peninsula, forced the regional administration to suspend private fuel sales and sparked a black market where gasoline can reach up to 350 ruble per litre. Residents report long queues, frequent power cuts and a surge in cash transactions as ATMs often fail.
The attacks have also hit Russian refineries far from the front line, reducing national refining capacity by roughly 40 % and generating nationwide fuel queues that in some cities last for days. Russia’s vice‑premier Alexander Novak acknowledged “deficit” and “queues” at petrol stations, while Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov warned that “the real hell for Russians is just beginning.”
Tourism on the peninsula has collapsed, with about 79 % of hotel bookings cancelled, and businesses are shutting down amid fuel‑price spikes and unreliable electricity. The disruption is lowering Russia’s export earnings from oil and grain, raising the cost of the war effort and pressuring the Russian economy.