Russia Admits for the First Time That Ukrainian Strikes Are Causing Heavy Damage

The Moscow government has offered a hint at the depth of the crisis. After four years of war, Russian civilians are being hit directly and severely, and the damage is also affecting Russia’s military capabilities.

Ukraine’s ongoing campaign of strikes against Russian supply lines in occupied territories is beginning to leave clear marks on the ground, to the point that Russian authorities themselves are being forced to acknowledge the difficulties. Ukrainian drone attacks are disrupting Moscow’s supply network and worsening the fuel crisis created by earlier strikes on refineries and oil depots in Russia. In an unusual move, the Russian government admitted at the beginning of the week for the first time that the attacks are causing damage that is also affecting residents. At the same time, the Russian military is also being hit hard by the trend and is losing much of its ability to carry out attacks in the occupied areas of southern Ukraine.

The impact is being felt especially in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. In recent weeks, the region has been dealing with major logistical difficulties and fuel shortages, following a series of Ukrainian strikes on key transport routes connecting southern Russia and Crimea through the occupied city of Mariupol. The damaged road, also known as P-280, is a major transport artery for Russian forces in southern Ukraine. According to estimates, since the beginning of May Ukraine has carried out about 300 drone strikes against trucks on the road, including about 30 fuel tankers, and the intensity of the campaign increased further during the current month.

The effects on daily life in Crimea are already clearly visible. Videos posted on social media show long lines at gas stations across the peninsula. Residents reported that they sometimes have to wait up to ten hours to refuel their vehicles.

One resident of Simferopol told an independent website that he had started walking to work instead of using his car. He said the situation was less convenient, but not impossible. The BBC wrote that he even joked that he might now need to buy a horse. At most gas stations in Crimea, only up to 20 liters can currently be purchased through prepaid vouchers, and even that only when stock is available. At the same time, Russian tourists who arrived in the region before the crisis began in recent weeks are struggling to find fuel to leave the peninsula. The severity of the situation led the Moscow-appointed local authorities to set up a special hotline for them.

The government’s unusual admission of the ongoing shortage comes alongside a sharp rise in gasoline and diesel prices. On June 5, the head of the Russian administration in Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, admitted that it was not possible to meet the full demand for fuel in the region. According to him, hundreds of buses will have to remain in depots because of the shortage.

Another unusual statement came yesterday from the Russian Energy Ministry. In an official declaration, the ministry admitted for the first time that there are problems with fuel supply in the “southern regions,” wording that is believed to refer to occupied areas in Ukraine. The ministry said enemy airstrikes on energy and fuel facilities had created temporary supply difficulties and announced the establishment of a permanent task force to deal with the crisis.

Meanwhile, transport options to Crimea are shrinking. Sea routes have become dangerous after Ukrainian strikes hit ferries operating in the area. The bridge connecting Crimea to mainland Russia is also under continuing threat, which limits traffic on it. As a result, Russia is being forced to rely increasingly on overland supply routes through Mariupol, but these too are exposed to attacks along the way.

According to Russian sources, the crisis is not harming civilians alone but the military itself. The Russian military analysis channel Rybar, which is aligned with the Kremlin, said that the same strikes draining civilian gas stations are also affecting supplies to Russian forces in the south. It said the logistical crisis “does not distinguish between civilian needs and military needs and affects everyone at the same time.”

During the nights between June 6 and 7 and between June 8 and 9, a key bridge in the Chonhar area in northern Crimea was damaged. The bridge was used by Russian military forces and civilian vehicles alike, traveling on a main road in the area. Following the damage, traffic on it was halted.

At the same time, Ukraine continues to strike refineries and fuel depots inside Russia itself. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that during May, nearly 40% of Russia’s initial oil refining capacity was shut down as a result of those attacks. The strikes are not limited to the peninsula. Damage to infrastructure and supply lines has also been reported in the occupied areas of Luhansk and Kherson.

A commander in the Ukrainian drone unit Raid told the BBC that disrupting Russian logistics is one of his unit’s main missions, which includes strikes against warehouses, fuel tanks, buildings and even bunkers where Russian officers are stationed. The Ukrainian commander did not refer directly to these incidents, but said this is an area where many heavy vehicles used by the Russian military operate, so mistakes can happen. However, he said that there is no deliberate targeting of civilian vehicles.

Fears of additional strikes have also led to new travel restrictions. Moscow-appointed authorities in the Luhansk region have banned bus service on two major roads leading to Mariupol and Crimea, and urged residents to avoid using them for security reasons.

The cumulative effect of the Ukrainian strikes, both in the medium and long term, is not limited to harming Russia’s fighting capability. It is also bringing the war’s consequences into the territories controlled by Russia and directly affecting the daily lives of civilians living in occupied areas. After more than four years of war, Russian citizens are increasingly understanding that the war is closer to them than they thought.