Drivers queue for gasoline in Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, June 2026
EA-Ukraine VideoCast: Under Pressure, The Kremlin Considers A Return to Talks
EA-Ukraine VideoCast: A “Desperate” Kremlin Amid Gasoline Shortages and Crimea’s Isolation
Thursday’s Coverage: Putin Acknowledges Kyiv’s Counter-Attacks
UPDATE 0813 GMT:
Ukraine’s air defenses downed 83 of 90 drones launched by Russia overnight. A ballistic missile and six attack UAVs hit seven locations.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine has carried out more strikes on the besieged, Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula.
Kyiv’s drones struck energy infrastructure, putting further pressure on the grid and gasoline supplies.
Videos showed a widespread power outage in the city of Simferopol, and a blackout of parts of the city of Yalta after an attack on a substation. Explosions were also heard near the Balaklava Power Plant in Sevastopol.
Ukraine also hit and set afire the Poltavskaya oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, across the Kerch Strait from Crimea.
Russian proxy authorities said on Tuesday that around half of Crimea was without electricity. Sales of gasolines have been banned except for the military and essential services.
On Wednesday, Ukraine State security service SBU said the strikes would “continue methodically turning Crimea into a zone of constant losses for Russian forces until they leave the Ukrainian peninsula”.
In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Kremlin is moving its air defense assets to Moscow; Valdai, near one of Putin’s residences; and the Kerch Bridge between southwest Russia and Crimea.
He emphasized that the shift of hundreds of launchers was “at the expense of air defense elsewhere”.
“There are many difficulties – all because Putin refuses to end his war and to hear our proposals for a meeting, genuine negotiations, and a dignified peace,” Zelensky explained.
