Ukraine drone strikes target Crimea supply routes

Ukraine has stepped up drone strikes on Russian supply routes to Crimea, hitting water and fuel shipments that Moscow provides to the peninsula. The attacks have reduced imports and left the region’s 2.5 million residents facing a state of emergency, recurrent blackouts, and rationing.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

The peninsula has since depended on Russian supplies for water and fuel. Ukraine’s recent strikes have focused on these supply lines in the Sea of Azov.

Stated objective Semafor reported that the campaign aims to show Russian President Vladimir Putin’s failure to protect the territory. Politico described Crimea as a former “sacred symbol of Russia’s imperial might” that has become a “critical vulnerability.”