Ukraine Hits Fuel Supplies to Crimea   06/12 06:35

   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.

   (AP) -- 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.

   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.