In a new blow to the Kremlin’s narrative that Moscow is winning the four-year-old war in Ukraine, Kyiv’s forces have targeted supplies to Crimea, triggering the worst fuel crisis on the Black Sea peninsula since it was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
The persistent attacks reflect the growing intensity and efficiency of Ukraine’s drone strikes and have caught Russia off-guard and struggling for a response. As the country marks the Russia Day national holiday on Friday, signalling the start of summer vacations, the gas shortages are threatening to cause further disruptions to the tourism-dependent region with its beaches and resorts.
In a rare public acknowledgment, the Kremlin has recognised the scope of the problem and promised to address the issue quickly.
Ukraine’s successes have highlighted its ability to inflict painful damage to Russia and change the course of the conflict, while Moscow’s advances recently have ground to a near halt. On Thursday, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine reached its 1,569th day, surpassing the duration of World War I.
Crimea’s importance to Russia
Crimea has been a jewel in Russia's imperial crown since it was seized from Turkic-speaking Tatars in the 18th century after Moscow defeated the Ottoman Empire. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred Crimea from Russia to Ukraine in 1954 when both republics were part of the USSR. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the diamond-shaped peninsula became part of newly independent Ukraine.
Russia kept a naval base in Sevastopol, and when a Moscow-friendly Ukrainian president was ousted by a popular uprising in February 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent in troops to overtake Crimea. Weeks later, Moscow annexed the peninsula following a referendum that most of the world refuses to recognise.
Soon afterward, a Moscow-backed separatist insurgency erupted in eastern Ukraine, and fighting there raged with varying intensity until the February 2022 invasion. Russian troops concentrated in Crimea quickly seized large parts of southern Ukraine early in the war and secured the land route to the peninsula.
Queues and gas rationing
It’s not immediately clear how the fuel disruptions will affect Russian military operations, but residents of Crimea and other occupied territories are feeling the blow. The peninsula has had periodic fuel shortages from Ukrainian strikes before, but this crisis is the worst since its 2014 annexation.
At the end of May, authorities restricted the sale of gasoline to 20 litres (5 1/3 gallons) per vehicle owner per week using prepaid coupons. Those were snapped up immediately following their release on an official messaging app channel, and motorists lined up for hours, waiting to refuel.
Social networks have been abuzz with requests and advice on where to find fuel, and authorities launched a hotline for tourists who have found themselves trapped. While fuel shipments over the Kerch Bridge long has been suspended for security reasons since the Ukrainian attacks, fuel also has been carried by ferries. Those shipments are expected to increase.
Some motorists bring their own gas over the bridge from the mainland, but they are restricted to carrying 100 liters (about 26 1/2 gallons) per vehicle. Some speculators are selling gas at double the market price.
Crimea attracted nearly 7 million tourists last year, and it had hoped to top that number this year. The business daily Kommersant reported that nearly 80 per cent of hotel bookings were cancelled in late May and early June.
Also read: Ukraine strikes at military, energy sites in Russia
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