Crimea Suspends Civilian Gasoline Sales After Ukrainian Strikes

Russian authorities in occupied Crimea suspended civilian gasoline sales Sunday after Ukrainian strikes on fuel supplies and supply routes. The move followed earlier limits that capped sales at 20 liters per vehicle owner per week. Officials said fuel would now be sold only to government agencies ensuring the functioning and security of the peninsula.

Power outages began affecting settlements in the north-western, central and southern parts of Crimea on June 21. Water supply was disrupted in some areas due to outages at pumping stations. Rolling blackout schedules were published on June 22 for several cities and towns, with outages occurring every three hours in Alushta, Dzhankoi and multiple districts.

By early Monday evening, 780 cars were lined up to leave Crimea via the Kerch Bridge, with average wait times of three hours. Russian-held Crimea also suspended tourist activities and children's summer camps until September. A lavender farm owner reported having only 60 liters of fuel for 17 hectares of fields and said gasoline was unavailable for sale.

Russian state media described the strikes as attempts to create a sense of crisis.