On the night of June 8, Ukrainian forces attacked several targets in Crimea, including a railway power substation and a locomotive. The Russian-appointed governor of the peninsula, Sergey Aksyonov, reported on his Telegram channel that a train driver was killed and his assistant was injured as a result of the strike on the train. According to the press service of Grand Service Express, a company operating in Crimea, all passengers were transferred to buses, and passenger train movement was temporarily halted. Attacks on the railway have become more frequent recently. Since May, the Ukrainian army has been actively using drones to attack the 'Novorossiya' highway, which connects Crimea and Rostov-on-Don through occupied territories. On May 21, Russian authorities banned truck traffic on the highway, except for several categories of particularly important goods. Motorists are also advised not to travel on certain sections of this road. As a result of the partial blockade, a fuel crisis began in Crimea, residents started hoarding inexpensive long-shelf-life products, and tourists are massively canceling trips to local resorts. What are the sentiments on the peninsula, and will the Ukrainian army be able to completely cut off occupied Crimea from Russia? 'Novaya-Evropa' interviewed local residents and military experts. A queue of cars at a gas station in Crimea, Ukraine, June 3, 2026. Photo: Maxim Churuso v / TASS / ZUMA Press / Scanpix / LETA. Deprive of ammunition and fuel. According to analysts, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have two tasks: to disrupt the supply of the Russian army fighting in Ukraine and to isolate Crimea. - The Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to establish a blockade of Crimea today, - says military analyst and former SBU officer Ivan Stupak. - In addition, the Ukrainian side's task is to disrupt the supply to two groups of Russian armies – 'Dnepr' and 'Vostok', with a total strength of 150 to 180 thousand people. For this purpose, drones are blocking logistics along the 'Novorossiya' highway from Rostov through Taganrog and Mariupol to Chongar. 'If the Ukrainian Armed Forces can disrupt the supply of fuel, medicine, ammunition, food, and water to these army groups, it will slow down the offensive actions of the Russian Armed Forces. This is already happening in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson region, and Luhansk region. Crimea is the cherry on top.' - I am sure that we will see attacks on the Crimean Bridge very soon, - adds military-political observer of the 'Information Resistance' group Oleksandr Kovalenko. - This is the same transport artery that supplies the occupied territories. Mid-range strike drones can quite reach the bridge. For this, they need to be launched from special aerostats that can cover most of the distance. According to Ukrainian military expert Roman Svitan, Crimea is practically unusable from a military point of view without supplies from the mainland. - It will become a 'suitcase without a handle' for the Russian command, - says the expert. - Now the Ukrainian Armed Forces are stopping such logistics and transit of military cargo through the peninsula. In fact, we are seeing the very beginning of the operation to liberate Crimea. If the Ukrainian Armed Forces have enough drones, the Russian military presence on the peninsula will soon be reduced to a minimum. By disrupting logistics in the occupied territories, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to begin their liberation. The order, apparently, will be as follows: Zaporizhzhia and Kherson region, then Crimea, and then Donbas. In this case, a landing by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Crimea, which some Z-correspondents have written about, is unlikely. - It is irrational, illogical, suicidal, and meaningless, - says Kovalenko. - A landing force must be consistently supplied with ammunition, reinforcements, and everything necessary. Armed liberation of the peninsula is possible only after the Ukrainian military pushes the enemy out of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Currently, only special forces operations for sabotage and reconnaissance activities are possible in Crimea. And such incidents have already occurred at Cape Tarkhankut and other locations. A queue of cars at a gas station in Yevpatoria, Crimea, Ukraine, June 3, 2026. Photo: Oleksiy Pavlishak / Reuters / Scanpix / LETA. Blockade of Crimea - The operations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are putting pressure on the local population of the occupied regions, - says Roman Svitan. - However, it should be taken into account that Ukrainians, who usually have a garden plot, find it easier to survive. But migrants who have moved from Russian regions are unlikely to withstand these living conditions and will leave Ukrainian lands. Ivan Stupak agrees: a clear destabilization of life on the peninsula can lead to tension and protests. - Residents of Crimea and other occupied territories are seeing this nightmare and will soon start protesting against the Russian authorities, - he believes. - There is already a shortage of medicines, food, essential goods, and fuel in the occupied territories. This creates discomfort. I can assume that initially only military tasks were set. But then they saw that there was a social response and began to implement a long-term strategy of pressure on the population of the occupied territories. Within this framework, for example, there is a struggle against the tourist season in Crimea. It is clear that [under such conditions] people try not to travel to the peninsula. Russia is now frantically looking for solutions, with an acute need for truck drivers. By July, it will be clear what results have been achieved. Fuel and food problems. In annexed Crimea and Sevastopol, restrictions on fuel sales continue to be introduced. Now, to buy gasoline in Sevastopol at TЭС gas stations, you need to get a personal QR code registered to the vehicle. Local residents and tourists can get no more than 20 liters of gasoline per week. Free sale is possible only for AI-92 gasoline at some city gas stations of ATAN. Smaller gas stations regulate fuel sales independently, but even they have AI-95 gasoline in limited quantities. More often than not, even small gas stations sell fuel by coupons – no more than 20 liters per person. Such coupons cannot be purchased directly from gas stations. The exception is for legal entities. Some turn to resellers on 'Avito' who trade coupons and gasoline at double the market price, or to motorists selling canisters with Krasnodar fuel at the exit of Kerch – the nearest large city to the Crimean Bridge connecting mainland Russia and the annexed peninsula. Some chain grocery stores sell goods in limited quantities – for example, no more than three kilograms of sugar per person. The shelves of the peninsula's stores are empty only in the segment of the cheapest brands of goods – flour, oil, milk, cereals. Slightly more expensive goods can still be purchased in any of the Crimean cities. - There are no problems with products, it's just that some people, in any situation, start stocking up sharply, buying everything: buckwheat, sugar, canned goods, long-shelf-life products, - believes Sevastopol resident Valentina. - There are no problems with delivery, the problem is with panicking idiots. I have friends who have stocked up on canned goods – if there's another blackout, the freezers will defrost, and we'll need to think. I was in the store the other day – everything is there. What the media write about products is greatly exaggerated. Photos of empty shelves were likely taken closer to the evening on weekends, well, there would be something left. Elena, a resident of Yalta, is less optimistic and fears shortages. - Aksyonov could simply announce without details that Crimea has reserve stocks so that we don't worry, - she is indignant. - Many pensioners, including myself, have small pensions, and I would feel calmer if I knew that I was guaranteed a certain set of products by coupon. I'm even afraid to go to the store so as not to see empty shelves. Yesterday, a friend told me on the phone that cheap sugar had disappeared from 'Yabloko' (a chain of grocery stores in Crimea – Ed.). I haven't gone anywhere yet. A sign in the window of the 'Tavria' passenger express, April 28, 2026. Photo: Mikhail Voskresensky / Sputnik / Imago Images / Scanpix / LETA. How to leave Crimea? The biggest difficulty now is leaving Crimea via the bridge. Drivers spend two to three hours in queues, sometimes more. Locals attribute this to some residents going to gas stations in Russia. It is possible to enter the peninsula without queues. Restrictions apply to some vehicles: electric cars, hybrid vehicles, and gasoline cars with electric motors up to 20 kW and a 48 V battery (MHEV 48V) cannot cross the bridge. They are also prohibited from using the ferry. The batteries of such vehicles contain lithium, which looks the same as explosives to scanning devices, and manual inspection would further lengthen the queue. Owners of such vehicles are advised to switch to other cars or take the land route along the 'Novorossiya' highway. Another difficulty related to departure is the lack of fuel for tourists. The peninsula authorities have created a hotline: "For tourists who have difficulties leaving the Republic of Crimea, the Ministry of Resorts and Tourism of the Republic of Crimea hotline is available at 8-800-511-80-18. Gas filling stations will be identified in the regions (South, West Coast, Center) where guests can refuel to leave the peninsula." However, despite promises of a multi-channel phone line, tourists complain that it is impossible to get through. "I've been calling this number since Friday, it's useless, and I'm not the only one. Please write down the conditions for selling fuel and the addresses of gas stations," writes Alexander under a post congratulating social workers. People walk along the embankment in Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine, June 8, 2026. Photo: Konstantin Mikhalchevsky / Sputnik / Imago Images / Scanpix / LETA. Bookings canceled. A mass cancellation of tour bookings to Crimea has been recorded for the first time in several years. The 2025 resort season was one of the most profitable since 2022 – Russians preferred holidays on the Black Sea without the fuel oil that reached other domestic resorts. However, the fuel deficit – Russians often traveled to the peninsula by personal transport – has seriously changed their plans. From the end of May to June 6, at least 70% of bookings on the peninsula were canceled, and in some resort towns, the number approaches 80%. Founder of the 'Pink Elephant' travel agency network, Aleksan Mkrtchyan, predicts a loss of about three or four million tourists. In his opinion, Russians are ready to reorient themselves to resorts in the Krasnodar region, including Anapa. It can be assumed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces' strike on the locomotive of the Moscow-Simferopol passenger train on the night of June 7 in Crimea will also affect tourists' decisions. Already, there are disruptions in the movement of trains of 'Grand Service Express', the operator of railway passenger transport. Not only the schedule but also the logistics are changing. For example, those wishing to travel to Moscow from Simferopol, the capital of the republic, must now arrive at the bus station an hour earlier, from where they will be picked up by a bus, or they can independently reach the Kerch Yuzhnaya railway station. Sevastopol residents traveling to St. Petersburg also need to take a bus an hour earlier, which will take them to the station Seven Kolodezev in the village of Lenino between Feodosia and Kerch. Such logistical changes significantly alter plans, and many tourists refuse and return tickets. For example, Marina from Chelyabinsk says that due to changes in train schedules, she will miss her flight: - My tickets are non-refundable, with a ten-hour delay in departure, I won't make it anywhere. I'll have to look for options in Anapa, Sochi, or somewhere nearby. And this strike, honestly, scared me a little. I have a young daughter, I worry about her. Mikhail from Krasnodar decided to cancel his trip due to the need to change transport: - It used to be convenient: get on the train and get to Sevastopol, but now there are some buses, and what if they get hit too. This year I will support the resorts of the Krasnodar region, I haven't been there for a long time! - the man reasons. - I've been coming to Sevastopol every year since 2014, this year, apparently, I'll break the tradition. The carrier 'Grand Service Express' issued a recommendation: "Passengers of trains traveling to or from Crimea, in case of danger, must be prepared for situations where they need to evacuate from the train – to the station, and in cases where danger overtakes them outside the station, - to the open area. [...] For all of us, including train crews, such situations are new and non-standard. In each specific case, conductors and train managers are guided not only by general instructions but also by the specifics of the operational situation." "The car completely burned down." Traffic on the north of the peninsula, where the 'Novorossiya' highway runs, appears calmer. The traditional vehicle checkpoints of Dzhankoy and Armyansk are operating in reverse mode after the Ukrainian Armed Forces' strikes – traffic is allowed in both directions on one lane alternately. However, there is currently no active movement from either the annexed Crimea or the occupied territories. Drivers share observations in chats: - 7:40 Chongar is clear in both directions, reverse. - It's possible to pass. They say there are no queues. - They started letting people through the bridge. One side is working. Reverse in 2 directions. There are almost no cars. Truckers are being sent through the village of Perekop towards Chaplynka. They are temporarily banned from passing through other checkpoints. All drivers are advised to travel only during the day to avoid drone attacks. At night, the situation is considered much more dangerous for trucks: "For us, the night was terrible, - they write in the chat. - My husband was driving a loaded 20-ton truck. On his last trip, he saw other burned-out cars from a distance, and today he found himself in such a situation. A drone hit our car. It hit the cabin directly. The car was moving quite fast, and probably luck, as well as the car itself, saved him. We have an American tractor: the impact hit the rear left part of the cabin, behind the driver. " The drone pierced the roof, the door jammed, all the upholstery and sleeping bags were torn off. My husband says he was deafened and blinded, everything was like a fog. But he somehow managed to pull himself together. The cabin caught fire instantly. The fire was hellish. He tried to put out the fire, but nothing worked. The fire extinguishers did not help – there were two of them, the fire only intensified. There were explosions, and more than one. Trucks are intentionally set on fire with some substance." - Complete remote isolation of Crimea will allow it to be taken by attrition, - believes military-political observer of the 'Information Resistance' group Oleksandr Kovalenko. - At the same time, Ukrainian troops will advance overland towards Berdyansk and Mariupol. This will allow them to gain fire control over the entire Sea of Azov and the Crimean Bridge itself.