Ukraine hits fuel supplies to Crimea, sparking a fuel crisis on the
Russian-held peninsula
[June 12, 2026]
Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries, depots and pipelines. Tanker
trucks attacked and left ablaze along the land corridor from Russia to
Crimea. Motorists waiting in long lines at gas stations.
In a new blow to the Kremlin's narrative that Moscow is winning the
4-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,
signaling 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 recognized the scope of
the problem and promised to address the issue quickly.
Ukraine's successes have highlighted its ability to inflict painful
damage on 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 recognize.
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.
Since early in the war, Ukraine has fired missiles and drones to try to
dislodge Moscow’s hold on the territory. The Ukrainian military sank
several Russian warships in the Black Sea and at their Crimean bases,
crippling Moscow’s naval capability and forcing it to redeploy its fleet
to Novorossiysk.
Ukraine also methodically targeted munitions depots, airfields and
Putin’s prized asset, the Kerch Bridge linking Crimea to Russia. The
span was struck by a truck bomb in October 2022 that killed five people,
blew up two sections of the bridge and required months of repairs. More
attacks on the bridge followed in 2023 and 2025.
Ukraine's attacks on the land corridor to Crimea
Since the Kerch Bridge attacks, Russia has channeled most fuel and other
supplies along the highway and railroad via the occupied territories
along the Sea of Azov coast. Those shipments were interrupted last
month, when Ukrainian drones hit fuel trucks on the highway that Moscow
once deemed to be safe, leaving behind dozens of burning vehicles.
Other relentless Ukrainian strikes hit refineries, oil depots and
pipelines deep inside Russia, hurting its oil exports and causing
domestic fuel shortages.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War noted the synergy
between the longer-range attacks and those disrupting supplies to Crimea
and other occupied regions.
“The long-range strike campaign is therefore reducing Russia’s
production capacity, while the midrange strike campaign is hurting
Russia’s ability to transport the gasoline Russia is still able to
produce,” it said in an analysis.
Making matters worse, Ukrainian drones this week repeatedly hit the
Chonhar Bridge, which links mainland Ukraine and Crimea over a shallow
strait. Authorities deployed pontoon bridges.
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In this photo provided by Sevastopol Mayor Mikhail Razvozhaev's
Telegram channel on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, firefighters put out a
blaze after a Ukrainian drone hit a building housing a panoramic
painting that depicts the defense of the city during the 19th
century Crimean War in Sevastopol, Crimea. (Sevastopol Mayor Mikhail
Razvozhaev's Telegram channel via AP, File)
The Ukrainian military said it struck the bridge to disrupt the
movement of troops, ammunition and fuel from Crimea.
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 keenly 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
liters (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 have 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% of hotel bookings were canceled in late May
and early June.
Some hotels offered gasoline as a bonus for new bookings, offers
that were quickly snapped up.
Some travelers were unsettled by a Ukrainian drone attack earlier
this week on a passenger train traveling from Moscow to Crimea,
injuring its driver and killing his assistant. That led to a brief
suspension of service, with passengers taken by buses.
An earlier attack on a commuter train in Crimea killed one person
and injured three others, forcing authorities to shift schedules to
limit service during daytime hours.
Kremlin pledges action
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the Crimean fuel
shortages earlier this week and promised that “measures were being
taken” to deal with them.
The Russian Defense Ministry has been silent about the Ukrainian
attacks on the land corridor, while some war bloggers have harshly
criticized the military for failing to anticipate the strikes and
its slow response.
Some suggested military escorts for fuel trucks while others urged
stepping up strikes on Ukrainian bridges, fuel storage sites and
other infrastructure.
Amid the fuel crisis and the finger-pointing, Ukraine dealt another
symbolic blow to Russia, striking a historic Sevastopol building
that houses a huge panoramic painting that depicts the defense of
the city during the 19th century Crimean War. The painting was
effectively destroyed by fire during the attack, according to
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Kremlin-appointed head of Crimea's largest
city.
Given Putin’s focus on Crimea, military blogger Valery Shiryayev
said the attack would certainly anger the Russian leader.
“It’s hard to find another work of art, another part of national
heritage, whose destruction would be as painful for Putin,” he said.
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