The Ukrainian military has launched a series of strikes against key infrastructure in Crimea, causing a lockdown in the region. The strikes, which began late Sunday, have targeted a railway bridge over the North Crimean canal, a power plant, and other critical infrastructure. The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, has announced enforced temporary measures, including the closure of public transport at 10pm and large shops and cafes at 8pm. Street lighting has also been dimmed, and petrol stations have been banned from selling fuel to non-government users.
According to Ukraine's defence ministry, drones struck an oil storage depot at the Kerch thermal power plant, an electrical substation in the west, and a liquefied natural gas distribution station in Simferopol, the peninsula's second-biggest city. Parts of Crimea were without power on Tuesday, with the area's energy supplier blaming technical malfunctions.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not publicly commented on the strikes. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged the impact of Ukrainian drones, describing them as a 'huge stream' aimed at destabilising Russian society and disrupting energy supplies and tourism. Putin has called on the Russian government to take additional measures to offset the consequences of the strikes.
Russia's deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, has told Putin that officials are considering suspending diesel fuel exports to protect the country's motorists. Crimea's ministry of sport has also cancelled all sporting events, competitions, and training sessions for children through 1 September, citing security concerns.
The tensions between Russia and Ukraine have been exacerbated by recent comments from Moscow, which has complained that the US has failed to deliver on 'understandings' reached between Putin and former US President Donald Trump at a summit in Alaska last August. The Kremlin has repeatedly expressed gratitude for Trump's efforts and spoken of 'the spirit of Anchorage', shorthand for Russia's contention that Trump agrees Ukraine should hand over the whole of its Donbas region in return for peace.