Ukraine Has Opened A New Theater Of Operations

The WSJ reported on the situation in Crimea.

For more than four years, Vladimir Putin has tried to shield Russians from the hardships of war. However, now Ukraine has turned Crimea—annexed by Putin in 2014—into a new theater of war—hundreds of drones attack Crimean energy and fuel facilities every day. As a result, local residents and tourists are experiencing the consequences of the conflict firsthand, writes The Wall Street Journal.

Air raid alerts are now regularly sounded in Crimea, power outages are occurring, and gasoline prices have reached record highs. Thousands of residents and tourists are leaving the peninsula via the Kerch Bridge, and the blockade created by Ukrainian drones has effectively cut Crimea off from Russian supplies.

“Ukrainian attacks have turned life in Crimea upside down and undermined its image as a showcase for Putin’s imperial ambitions in Ukraine after he poured enormous resources into the peninsula. Crimeans say that essential services—such as daycare centers, trash collection, and ATMs—have stopped working,” the publication reports.

One Sevastopol resident said there has been no electricity for several days. The declaration of a state of emergency forced stores to close at 8:00 p.m., but many of them have stopped operating altogether, as refrigerated and frozen foods spoil without electricity.

“The situation in Sevastopol is particularly dire. Most stores aren’t open at all. It’s impossible to withdraw cash. Public transportation is running very poorly and on a limited schedule,” he said.

Crimea’s tourism sector has been hit the hardest. The Association of Russian Tour Operators stated that the number of bookings in Crimea during the first weeks of summer has halved and may decline even further. Tourists who do manage to reach the peninsula are forced to search for the few gas stations that are open or buy fuel on the black market.

For example, a tourist from Moscow said she found a seller who filled up her car for 500 rubles per liter—about six times the average price.

On Sunday, Putin acknowledged problems with Crimea’s energy infrastructure and stated that the government would compensate for any shortfall through supplies by land or sea. He also described the situation as part of an information campaign aimed at undermining Russia’s morale.

However, for now, Crimeans have to cope with the consequences on their own.

One Yalta resident said she quit her job to stay home with her children because classes at the kindergarten had been canceled. And due to a fuel shortage, she cannot get to the on-call kindergarten, which continues to operate on an emergency basis.

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