"No support measures are provided to small businesses, so small businesses are simply incurring losses, that's all," says Katya, a resident of Sevastopol. "My friend also had no electricity, but when there's no electricity, there's no water for them. Many people have no electricity at all, for the second day. Some have no gas, they can't even cook a meal," describes Svetlana. Residents of Sevastopol told Novaya-Europe how they survived 22 hours without electricity and communication. Residential buildings at night during a power outage, Yevpatoria, Crimea, June 23, 2026. Photo: Alexey Pavlishak / REUTERS / Scanpix / LETA. What is happening in Sevastopol Frequent shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine has significantly changed the lives of citizens over the past month - today it is practically impossible to freely buy fuel, to be sure of the availability of electricity, water, and gas. AI-92 gasoline can only be purchased by legal entities with coupons and city services. The rest of the residents are forced to use public transport or their personal gasoline reserves, which are rapidly dwindling. The supply of electricity in different parts of the city resembles a lottery: houses located near government buildings have almost no problems, while in residential areas, electricity is absent for two days or more. "I called acquaintances, everyone had electricity and water, what did Repina [...] do wrong, no electricity, no water. The second day is ending," marvels Sevastopol resident Oksana. In some parts of the city, water is not pumped - house pumps are de-energized. Residents of the city are outraged on social media by promises to regulate the electricity situation without introducing power outage schedules: "The media reported at 10:30 that there was no electricity in Sevastopol. And at 10:50, Razvozhayev made a statement that electricity was supplied in the districts. Remember, Sakharnaya Golovka, Severnaya? The media got the impression that they quickly coped, who would figure out that in Severnaya, electricity was supplied to two houses for a few minutes? He doesn't say that they supplied it and then turned it off again." Small cafes and establishments are temporarily closing - it becomes unprofitable to work. " In fact, a curfew of sorts is in effect in the city, although it is not called that: shops close at eight in the evening, cafes and restaurants at 11:00 PM, the last buses and minibuses depart at ten in the evening, and motorcycles are prohibited after ten in the evening. On June 26, a state of emergency was introduced in Crimea and Sevastopol. Katya - We were switched to remote work from Monday. On Tuesday, we worked normally. At night, I didn't hear anything because I sleep soundly - everyone said it was very loud. On Wednesday, everything was cut off. All day, four percent of the city was powered, by evening - ten percent. Only those on the same line as the government had electricity, because it, apparently, functions on some reserve capacities. There was electricity on Lenin Street and in a couple of houses nearby. The rest were all without electricity. I went to my friends to charge and use the Wi-Fi. General panic began, everyone started buying buckwheat, water is being bought in liter bottles - there are no five-liter bottles of water anywhere. People are simply clearing out grocery stores - this is some kind of trash. I don't know what to do at all. Today, because of the lack of electricity, large stores in some areas do not work, because generators also need diesel, and there is no fuel. The shopping center "Apelsin" was working, several bank branches and shops in the center, but there were very few of them. All power banks were sold out. I bought one for some crazy money. Deep down, I understand that I was ripped off - I couldn't check the price because there was no electricity. I needed something, so I paid a lot of money for some super-ordinary power bank. A satellite image shows burning oil depots and smoke rising over the Crimean Bridge, Crimea, June 22, 2026. Photo: Vantor / REUTERS / Scanpix / LETA. Public transport is running wildly, it's a complete disaster. I was going home yesterday at nine in the evening, and it was the last transport [on the schedule], people were crammed in to the last. We stood at one stop for ten minutes because some woman was trying to squeeze in. The driver said, we won't close the door, and you need to get out. She said: "I want to go home." All these elderly people, apparently, usually take trolleys, and there are no trolleys [due to power outages]. "Therefore, all these grandmothers and grandfathers are trying to squeeze into these unfortunate minibuses. Also, everyone, apparently, did not understand how transport runs and how to travel. I thought I would suffocate, I wouldn't be let out, I would die there, I would reach the final stop, and my corpse would be picked out. No support measures are provided to small businesses, so small businesses are simply incurring losses, that's all. My friend works in a printing house, and it seems that some decree was issued due to which all large banners began to be removed, taken down, torn off. People come to complain to the printing house, saying, I paid for the advertising, but the banner was removed, what should I do? They say: "You can, of course, order a new one, but most likely, it will also be torn down." Svetlana There was no electricity from three to four in the morning anywhere. We woke up, went to the city center to scout - we thought maybe some cafes with generators were working. We walked around the entire center. People were wandering around the city because many didn't even go to work. My husband's mother, for example, didn't go to work. My friend works at the "Tsar Khleb" factory, she also didn't go because what's the point - nothing is working. We see that the art cafe "Snezhinka" and the restaurant "Apolo" are working. They are on the same [power] line, as I understand it, as the streets that had electricity almost all day today: Frunze Street, Lunacharsky Street. Lenin Street almost entirely had electricity - apparently, because the government is there. There were generators rarely - they need to be refueled. Surprisingly, in some expert bureau, a generator was running all day. We went to "Apolo," ate there, and charged our phones a bit. Then in the afternoon, all communication was lost, even VKontakte was not working. I called my mother to look at the "Sevstar" electricity map, to understand the situation, but I couldn't get through. In the morning, the map showed: 15% [of houses with electricity], then four percent. We walked along Bolshaya Morskaya (a street in the center of Sevastopol. - Ed.) - there were a lot of people, nothing was working. "Apolo" was also not working anymore, because by that time the electricity had been turned off. A couple of places and "Snezhinka" were on generators, where they said: "We will have a lecture here, so we can only seat you on the second floor." I think, whatever, it's a joke. Houses on Bolshaya Morskaya had electricity, but then they were also cut off. TES gas station, Sevastopol, Crimea, June 21, 2026. Photo: Maxim Churuzov / TASS / ZUMA Press / Scanpix / LETA. We went home, slept, woke up, nothing changed: no communication at all. We tried to call my husband's mother - nothing, we went to her - she lives in the center. In the evening, the light flickered in some areas for a minute, then that was it. I didn't even open the refrigerator. I try not to lose heart, of course, because it's been very difficult lately: I take sedatives to sleep. Sometimes I hum Galtsa's song "And somewhere in Crimea, a girl in a pink sundress" - I remembered it in childhood because it has lines about Crimea - it calms me down. Electricity was restored around midnight, but communication is still bad. White lists, when there is communication, are barely working. " My friend also had no electricity, but for them, when there is no electricity, there is no water. It's okay not to be able to wash, but you can't even defecate, it's a horror. Many people have no electricity at all, for the second day. Some have no gas, they can't even cook a meal. Naturally, there's no talk of work, because I work with AI, I need internet access all the time. My husband too. As a result, we drive to work at my husband's mother's place because she has internet at home. Nadezhda I have gasoline reserves, electricity, water, and communication. For others, it's probably worse, and there's generally no gasoline. So far, I haven't felt any changes, except for the day when there was no electricity for 22 hours, although I live in the center. But my friend had electricity and even internet - I went to her, and I sat there all day working remotely. In the center [during the power outage], there were surprisingly as many people as usual, although it would be logical if there were more now. There were many teenagers, but they are always on the streets. I noticed that on the day there was no electricity, few establishments were working, few people had generators. There was only a small establishment, literally for five tables, and their summer terrace was packed. They had a portable gas burner and one small pot there - I think they were luring people in this way. Also, everyone who had a barbecue was fully booked! " Now the situation is a little better, but it's still not easy: people are not yet used to the restrictions on catering and come just before closing, where they are refused service. It's unclear why these restrictions exist - no one explained anything to us. Coffee shops, small shops are gradually closing. Probably, this is due to gasoline, and electricity, and people have started saving. My husband's job is driving - they were always given fuel cards at work, and they refueled with 95 gasoline without problems, now it will be 92. For several days, no one was refueled at all, except ambulances, fire trucks, and so on. As long as there is electricity, I have a job, as long as there is gasoline, he has a job. But I have decided to move to the South Coast of Crimea (south coast of Crimea. - Ed.) for at least a couple of weeks because I need to finish a work project. I think there will be rolling blackouts, however, no one has given us a schedule so we can prepare. My friends and I are doing well. We, when we stayed in Crimea during the war - it was a conscious decision - we were as if prepared for what might happen. In general, we believe that things will only get worse. So, it's still okay now. We can live life and enjoy the electricity that we have. Further, it may not be there on a permanent basis, and not for one day. We are waiting for some kind of conditional blockade. We hope that we will not be left without water. Water, of course, is the most important thing. But I already know how to desalinate seawater at home - it gives a feeling of some false control, that I know what to do in case there is no electricity, water, gas, and so on. It calms me down a bit, I understand that I will survive. An employee of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations stands on the roof of the museum-panorama "Defense of Sevastopol 1854-1855", damaged as a result of a fire caused by a drone attack, in Sevastopol, Crimea, June 17, 2026. Photo: Konstantin Mihalchevskiy / Sputnic / Scanpix / LETA. I have a friend, she is from Russia herself and does not have Ukrainian citizenship, she is planning to leave. Firstly, she is generally afraid of what is happening with everything. Secondly, she is afraid that if the Armed Forces of Ukraine can still enter, something will happen to her because she is not a citizen of Ukraine. At night, when drones fly low - radars cannot detect them, therefore they are not shot down. And there are open-top cars with a machine gun inside or guys with assault rifles - MOGs (mobile fire group. - Ed.). They drive and determine by ear where the drone is flying; their casings fly into the windows of houses, courtyards, but where the bullets themselves fall is unknown. At night, they started turning off the alarm earlier than the danger ended, precisely because it was difficult to determine where something was flying. Perhaps that's why they banned riding mopeds and motorcycles at night - they make the same sound. I also don't understand the point of posting these two or three pictures about how many goods are sold per person? These restrictions have always existed, but they were related to goods at a social price. That is, no more than, I don't know, three to five kilograms of sugar, flour, and so on per person. This applied specifically to goods sold by weight, but not in packaged form. We always buy a lot of food once a month or a month and a half, so that we go to the store less often. And when we went last time, everything was fine: there was sugar, there was buckwheat, all vegetables without problems, all cereals were in stores. " I missed the moment when the store shelves were empty. In the local KB, just the other day there was no dairy, although there was electricity in the store. Whether it was because of the electricity or someone bought up the dairy, but why... Canned goods generally stand as if untouched. I think that problems with products, with their delivery, and so on, will really start soon, because drivers, of course, do not want to drive through the new Russian territories. Prices have become much higher because logistics have become very expensive, but there are products. I think that there are still residues in the local warehouses of distributors.