‘No electricity, no water, no fuel’: Ukrainian drone strikes bring darkness to Crimea’s summer

A bicycle light cuts through the darkness during a power outage in Yevpatoria, Crimea. Photograph: Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters Interviews with residents of Russian-held region point to frustration with Moscow as Ukrainian campaign to isolate it takes toll on daily life By Pjotr Sauer F irst, the guests stopped coming. As Ukrainian drones and missiles pounded Crimea throughout the spring and into the summer, Russian tourists began cancelling their bookings at the small guesthouse Marina runs in Yevpatoria, a resort town on the peninsula’s Black Sea coast. Then petrol became scarce, making it harder to stock the business with food and other essentials. Now, electricity and running water are cut off for much of the day, just as the summer heat sets in. “For 12 years they told us Crimea was 100% protected,” Marina said, referring to the promises Russian officials have made since seizing it from Ukraine in 2014. “And then, within a month, we’ve been thrown back into the Stone Age – no electricity, no water, no fuel.” View image in fullscreen A pedestrian in Yevpatoria uses a torch after authorities limited electricity supplies. Photograph: Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters Since the start of this year, Kyiv has launched its largest sustained air campaign against Crimea , targeting both the peninsula and the land and sea transport links connecting it to Russia. Residents are facing the most severe disruption to daily life since its annexation in 2014. It was the first Russian-controlled region to experience the acute motor fuel shortages that have since spread to Russia. The Kremlin-installed authorities last month declared a state of emergency and temporarily banned sales to private motorists in an effort to preserve supplies for the military and emergency services. Ukraine releases drone footage showing attacks on energy sites in Russian‑held Crimea But as Ukrainian drones increasingly targeted the peninsula’s energy infrastructure, the crisis has quickly moved beyond petrol. More than 70% of Crimea’s roughly 2.5 million residents have experienced some form of power outage, according to a Guardian analysis, while many have now gone several consecutive days without electricity or running water. Interviews with more than a dozen residents across Crimea pointed to a growing sense of abandonment and frustration with both the Russian-installed authorities and Moscow, as Kyiv seeks to turn the peninsula “into an island”. Crimea map The festivals, summer camps and beach events that once filled Crimea’s season have been cancelled. In their place, long queues for petrol and a daily search for somewhere to shower and charge a phone. “We’re surviving, not living,” one resident said. Aleksei, a Crimean native who supported Russia’s annexation of the peninsula in 2014, says his restaurant has been largely empty this summer as tourists stayed away, while shortages and disrupted supply routes have made it increasingly difficult to source fresh produce from outside the peninsul