Ukraine has struck a thermal power plant and major fuel infrastructure across Russian-occupied Crimea, knocking out electricity to large parts of the peninsula and triggering a civilian fuel ban as Kyiv’s campaign to turn Crimea into an isolated “island” intensifies.
Electricity went out in Feodosia, Kerch, Sevastopol and several other areas of occupied Crimea following a series of overnight drone and missile strikes. The Tavriiska thermal power plant sustained damage in the attack, with a burned-out tank visible on the station’s premises, a charred and deformed façade on a nearby building, and a hole recorded in the wall of the main building, likely caused by a drone strike.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed his forces had struck energy and military targets on both sides of the Crimean Bridge. “This night, our long-range sanctions were applied to the occupiers’ military logistics, oil industry, and air defense,” he said. “Targets on both sides of the Crimean Bridge were hit: maritime logistics for oil transportation in the Krasnodar region and an oil depot in temporarily occupied Kerch.”
Commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces Robert Brovdi said the strikes targeted oil terminals, gas compressors and radar stations. Additional reports indicated that infrastructure at Russia’s Port Kavkaz was also affected — one of Russia’s largest cargo hubs in the Black Sea-Azov region and a key logistics node for supplies moving toward occupied Crimea and Russian-held areas of southern Ukraine.
The ferry Panagia also came under attack in the Kerch Strait, prompting Russia to suspend ferry operations between Port Kavkaz and Kerch and instruct transport operators to use alternative overland routes through Rostov-on-Don, occupied Mariupol, Melitopol and Simferopol. The Panagia had previously been documented transporting military equipment and air defence missile components between mainland Russia and Crimea.
Following the strikes, Russian-appointed authorities in occupied Crimea announced a complete suspension of fuel sales to civilians across the peninsula, with fuel reserves being reserved for government agencies, emergency services and other state needs. Sevastopol occupation governor Mikhail Razvozhaev barred petrol stations from selling fuel on June 22 and 23, shortened working hours of public transport and major retailers, suspended ferry operations and cancelled all outdoor events.
Four radar stations from Russia’s S-400 anti-aircraft missile system and two Pantsir anti-aircraft systems located directly on the Kerch Bridge were also disabled during the operation, according to Ukrainian officials.
The strikes are part of Ukraine’s sustained campaign to sever Crimea’s supply lines. Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Ukraine’s drone campaign is turning the peninsula “into an island,” as Kyiv attempts to isolate Crimea from the rest of Russia with strikes on supply chains. The Ukrainian General Staff also reported strikes on the Tyumen oil refinery in Western Siberia, more than 2,000 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, which produces fuel used by the Russian military.
