Ukraine cuts off Crimea from land, sea, and air - The Telegraph

Ukrainian strikes intensify the campaign to isolate occupied Crimea, targeting logistics routes, bridges, energy infrastructure, and fuel facilities. This is reported by The Telegraph, according to UNN.

Details

A medium-scale military air operation conducted by Ukraine, aimed at isolating the peninsula from the air, land, and sea, has cut off supply lines that supported Moscow's southern forces, making Crimea uninhabitable for Russians who considered it their beloved "Black Sea Riviera"

The publication notes that initially, Ukrainian drones struck the land corridor and railway connections linking Crimea to Russia. Then they attacked infrastructure facilities, oil refineries, power plants, and air defense towers. This week, their attacks targeted tankers of the "shadow fleet": 21 vessels attempting to transport fuel across the Sea of Azov were hit.

Crimea is being isolated with the help of drones. In the near future, the peninsula will become an island. For Russians, the real hell is just beginning

It is noted that for most of the week, power outages continued, water shortages spread, and in some areas water supply is provided only one hour per day, while Ukraine boasted that from July 1 to 8, it struck 50 energy facilities.

Attacks have intensified on at least six key Crimean bridges, including the Chongar Bridge and the Henichesk crossing, as well as logistics routes such as the 390-mile R-280 "Novorossiya" highway connecting Russia's Rostov region with the peninsula.

According to an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War, the resulting fuel shortage affected at least 78 of Russia's 83 federal districts. This shortage was also contributed to by Ukraine's long-range strikes, the number of which increased by 1,150 percent in 2026, as reported by the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces.

In Russia, the fuel shortage caused chaotic scenes at gas stations, forcing authorities to deploy police and the National Guard to manage growing queues, prevent clashes, and curb the rise of black market fuel trade.

Meanwhile, a parallel economy has emerged in Crimea: sellers use the Telegram messenger and e-commerce platforms such as Ozon, Wildberries, and Avito to offer illegal gasoline deliveries directly to drivers at prices up to $25 per gallon.

Russia uses Crimea to launch missiles at its adversary and assert dominance in the Black Sea, while Ukraine hopes that isolating the peninsula will lead to the compression of Russian forces in the south and exert strategic pressure on this stronghold. Kyiv seeks to force Russians to ponder how this territory became so vulnerable to Ukrainian air forces, even as the Kremlin continues to insist on its battlefield superiority

Recall

Ukraine in recent weeks has intensified strikes on temporarily occupied Crimea, focusing on air defense systems, transport infrastructure, power grids, and fuel facilities. These attacks have already significantly impacted logistics and daily life on the peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.