The heat of war turned life upside down in Crimea

Over the past four years, Russian President Vladimir Putin has tried to protect the Russian people from the consequences of the Ukraine conflict. But now, people in Crimea, a tourist peninsula famous for its white sand beaches, are somewhat experiencing the heat from the war.

Ukraine has turned the Black Sea peninsula into a new front with a series of drone attacks every day on Crimea’s key fuel and electricity facilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described these as “long-range sanctions” against Russia.

People in Crimea, the peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014, are constantly facing air defense alerts, constant power outages and fuel shortages. Crimean leader Sergey Aksyonov on June 12 announced an agreement with two major petroleum suppliers, ATAN and TES, to regulate fuel retail prices from June 13.

According to this agreement, the price of A95 gasoline is set at 86 rubles/liter (0.95 USD), while diesel is 85 rubles. During a meeting with ministers at the Kremlin on June 28, President Putin admitted that Ukraine’s raid campaign had caused a “certain fuel shortage” in the short term in many regions of Russia, adding that the government was resolving this problem.

Crimean residents said basic services such as kindergartens, garbage collection and cash dispensers had stopped working. In Yalta, a city on the southeastern coast of Crimea, Viktoria Spivakova said she quit her job to stay home to take care of her children because preschool classes were cancelled. Due to the scarcity of gasoline, she was also unable to take her children to emergency childcare.

The Crimean government last week declared a regional state of emergency in the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to “quickly resolve tasks related to ensuring stable operation of all sectors”. Mr. Aksyonov admitted on June 25 that the peninsula is going through a “challenging period” and that the “fuel situation” is the most difficult problem.

In Sevastopol, Maksim Tikhomirov, a 46-year-old resident, said the power outage had been going on for several days. The state of emergency has forced stores to close at 8 p.m. every day, but most have closed completely because frozen and refrigerated goods have been damaged due to lack of electricity.

“Particularly in Sevastopol, the situation is very difficult. Most stores are not operating. Cash cannot be withdrawn. Public transport is limited,” he said.

The hardest hit is Crimea’s tourism industry. The peninsula attracted about 7 million visitors last year, bringing in $60 million in revenue according to officially published figures.

With gas stations closed and trains and ferries operating limited, Russia’s association of tour operators said bookings in Crimea fell by about 50% in the first weeks of summer and could fall further.

For travelers who have been to Crimea, they must search chat groups and online maps for information about gas stations that may be open or where fuel can be purchased.

Anna Ivanova, a 32-year-old tourist from Moscow, found a person selling gasoline on the black market for 500 rubles (about 6.42 USD) a liter, nearly 6 times higher than the regulated price.

“There is no panic, but there are definitely fewer tourists coming to the peninsula compared to the same period last year,” she said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 25 announced a 40-day raid campaign to pressure Russia to end the fighting. Crimea is considered Ukraine’s key front in this medium- and long-range attack campaign.

On June 28, Mr. Putin announced that the current urgent task is to strengthen air defense capacity and ensure fuel supply, especially for the Crimean peninsula.

However, he also said that Ukraine’s attacks were part of an information campaign to undermine Russia’s morale. He said Ukraine had asked the two countries to stop attacking deep into each other’s territory and limit fighting to the four provinces Russia announced to annex.

“There have been new proposals, including the two sides stopping long-range raids. Obviously the proposal was made because our counterattacks are stronger, have greater impact and, frankly, are more destructive,” the Russian President said.

Sevastopol, Crimea’s largest city, is having to limit electricity supply to avoid overloading the system, after Ukraine repeatedly attacked its energy infrastructure. Mayor Mikhail Razvozhayev on June 24 condemned Ukraine’s attacks on energy infrastructure on the peninsula as “malicious”, aiming to “spread panic”.

Sevastopol authorities denied rumors that some officials had left the peninsula and brought their families to Russia. “Keep your wits about you and trust only official sources of information,” said Oleg Kryuchkov, advisor to the Governor of Crimea.

Konstantin Kosachyov, vice chairman of the Russian Federation Council, warned people about the enemy’s “psychological warfare” attacks. “It cannot be denied that there are temporary difficulties. But life continues and elections will still be held, despite all the fluctuations in the situation,” he said.

Boris Mikitchenko, a 38-year-old resident of Sevastopol, admitted that “constant worry can exhaust people”, but affirmed that “Sevastopol is still holding strong” in the face of difficulties.