Ukraine Crimea Blockade Causes Fuel Crisis, Tourism Collapse, and Mass Power Outages

Ukrainian drone strikes have hit nearly all bridges into Crimea and struck shipping and fuel infrastructure over the past several days, cutting the Russian-occupied peninsula off from fuel supplies during peak tourist season, according to RFE/RL 12. Ukraine's drone chief, Robert Brovdi, reported roughly 50 strikes in five days, a figure RFE/RL said could not be independently confirmed 2. Crimea's former tourism minister, Oleksandr Liev, told Current Time on July 10 that fuel had stopped appearing even at inflated black-market prices, and residents also reported food and water shortages along with stranded tourists seeking evacuation help 1. Residents in Sudak, Novy Svet and Chornomorske reported extended power, internet and phone outages this week, with one Chornomorske resident describing five hours of electricity over four and a half days; Russian-imposed authorities have operated "assistance centers" offering phone charging and landline access in several cities since July 5 12. Supermarket prices have risen sharply and some small businesses have closed, attributed to fuel-driven logistics disruption and drivers' fear of drone strikes on fuel trucks, while Russian occupation authorities said this week the supply problems would be resolved within two weeks without detailing how 12.