Crimea Looking More and More Like Cuba

The Ukrainians seem to be taking a page from Trump’s playbook. Here in our hemisphere, Cuba has been under a U.S. led oil blockade for months and the result is an island with no oil, no gasoline and very little electricity.

Ukraine has said it’s goal was to make the Crimean peninsula into an island by separating it from the mainland through a series of strikes on the bridges which supply it with fuel and other supplies. Gas shortages in Crimea were happening a couple weeks ago but now the situation is getting worse.

Officials in Russia-occupied Crimea suspended civilian gasoline sales Sunday as Ukraine ramped up attacks on fuel supplies on the Black Sea peninsula…

“Fuel will be sold only to government agencies that ensure the functioning and security of the Republic of Crimea,” Aksyonov said. “I ask everyone to remain calm and to only trust official sources of information.”…

At the end of May, authorities restricted the sale of gas to 20 liters (5 1/3 gallons) per vehicle owner per week, using prepaid coupons. Those were snapped up immediately following their release on an official messaging app channel, and motorists lined up for hours, waiting to refuel.

There are more than 2 million people living in Crimea, so cutting off all civilian gasoline sales is not a minor problem. Crimea has long been a vacation spot for Russians. It gets into the mid-80s in the summer and along the shores the wind cools things down to a nice 75 degrees. The area is also home to dozens of summer camps for children, but this week all of them have been shut down.

Russian-held Crimea, a popular destination ‌for Russians, has suspended tourist activities and children’s summer camps until September, its governor said on Monday, owing to a fuel crisis caused by Ukrainian attacks on sea routes and supply roads.

Adding to the similarities to Cuba, some areas in Crimea are now announcing rolling electricity blackouts and streetlights have been turned off at night.

On 21 June, several settlements in the north-western, central and southern parts of the peninsula were left without electricity. Due to power outages at the pumping stations, water supply was also disrupted in some areas in Crimea.

On 22 June, the Russian authorities published rolling blackout schedules for several cities and towns. According to the pro-Russian outlet Forpost, power outages will occur every three hours in the towns of Alushta and Dzhankoi and in the Nyzhnohirskyi, Chornomorske and Krasnoperekopsk districts.

Holiday travelers, many of them at least, have had enough and are lining up to leave.

By early Monday evening, 780 cars were lined up to leave Crimea, with an average wait time of three hours, according to a Telegram channel associated with the bridge.

In a chat group related to the bridge traffic, one user asked if it was still wise to make an annual visit to her mother in Crimea. Another user responded that it was fine, only there was no mobile internet or gas.

Occupiers in panic! Large queues have formed at the exit from Crimea via the Kerch Bridge

There are currently around 600 cars near the bridge.

This is accompanied by apocalyptic footage of an oil depot burning in Kerch after overnight Ukrainian strikes. pic.twitter.com/GvDtniZr4j

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) June 21, 2026

Some of these travelers from Moscow are really out of touch with reality.

“God, why am I here? I want to go back to Moscow!”

A Russian tourist in panic: she is trying to leave occupied Crimea, but is unable to do so. https://t.co/aIqo6j7WzV pic.twitter.com/hMmpb4hizi

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) June 21, 2026

Holiday travelers aside, the people who live in Crimea are facing problems.

Anastasia Kharitskaya, who owns a farming business that includes lavender fields, was struggling to hold back tears as she filmed herself for a social media post on Monday.

“Crimea has run out of gasoline,” she said. “Our lavender season is just about to begin. We have 17 hectares of lavender fields in Crimea — and 60 liters of gas. And there’s no gasoline on sale, and we can’t reach our fields.”

Lavender farms may not be critical infrastructure but if you imagine hundreds of small businesses like this being shut down for lack of fuel and electricity, you can see the problem. This is already a major disruption and there’s no reason to think it’s going to get better anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Russian newspapers continue to suggest there’s no reason to be worried. The Russian war machine is unstoppable even if there are a few setbacks.

One Russian paper today writes Ukrainian drone strikes “aim to create a sense of crisis among Russians.” In Crimea “the sale of fuel to the public is suspended.” Another paper: Russia’s offensive in Ukraine will go on: “for that we will always have enough fuel.” #ReadingRussia pic.twitter.com/Y8LKoCsBdp

— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) June 22, 2026

On television it’s the same basic message. Don’t let the drone attacks get you down. Needless to say, I don’t think all of these media outlets would be trying to rally morale if they weren’t concerned morale was waning.

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