The fuel blockade tightens: Kerch struck again, power knocked out across occupied Crimea

After several other attacks on occupied Crimea in recent days, Ukrainian drones again hit the peninsula overnight on 23 June, igniting fires at a power plant in Kerch and at logistics sites across Crimea, according to the Ukrainian monitoring channel Krymsky Veter (“Crimean Wind”). Large parts of Crimea had lost electricity by morning, suggesting unreported attacks on multiple power facilities. Russia’s occupation authorities blamed grid faults and did not acknowledge the strikes.

A power plant on fire, a 47-kilometer plume

Crimean Wind confirmed a fire at the Kerch thermal power plant in the Arshyntseve area in the east of the occupied peninsula. The station supplies electricity to part of Crimea. A fuel-storage tank caught fire, and satellite imagery tracked a smoke plume 47 kilometers long. The plant once ran on coal, later switched to gas, and keeps fuel oil as backup. That backup fuel is likely what burned.

Explosions from Feodosia to Dzhankoi

Residents reported blasts overnight in various parts of Crimea — Feodosia, Kerch, Krasnoperekopsk, and near Shcholkine, Crimean Wind said. Drones struck oil terminals again, the monitoring channel Supernova+ reported. 

New fires appeared at the oil terminal in Port Kavkaz, which sits in Russia across the Kerch Strait, the channel noted. Other fires hit the Arabat Spit and a bridge over the North Crimean Canal near Dzhankoi — the lifelines connecting the occupied peninsula to mainland Ukraine.

Fires beside the missile sites

Monitors tracked a blaze at the Pivdenna railway station in Kerch, Crimean Wind reported. Fires also broke out at the city’s entrance and near Baherove. Analysts flag both as S-300/S-400 positions, the Russian air-defense systems built to intercept missiles and drones.

The military-partisan movement ATESH reported hits in Sevastopol and Simferopol, with several Simferopol districts losing power. The Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ reported a fire at the “Nasosna-2” substation, which feeds a pumping station.

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Russian-occupied Crimea imposes electricity restrictions after grid breakdowns amid Ukrainian strikes

Parts of Crimea wake up without power

Much of occupied Crimea lost electricity on the morning of 23 June. The Russian utility Krymenergo said Yevpatoria, Saky (western Crimea), Krasnoperekopsk, and Dzhankoi (northern Crimea) went dark. Trams stopped running in Yevpatoria. The company blamed “technological disruptions,” not the strikes, and promised power back within a day.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed it downed 148 drones over Crimea, other occupied areas, and Russian regions. The occupation administration did not acknowledge the damage and reported no casualties. 

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Ukraine hits both ends of the Crimean Bridge corridor, targeting Russia’s logistical grasp on the occupied peninsula

HUR drones pick off trucks on the Crimea crossings

Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) destroyed Russian trucks at the entrance to occupied Crimea, its Active Operations Department said. The vehicles supply Russian military logistics on the peninsula and the southern front. The department published video of a recent series of strikes on social media.

Drones hit many of the trucks on a pontoon crossing near Chonhar. Russia set it up after Ukrainian strikes wrecked the bridges linking Crimea to the mainland. The footage shows mostly army trucks and fuel tankers. Occupiers repaint some of them to pass as civilian vehicles. HUR said its strikes on Russian occupation logistics continue on the Zaporizhzhia front.

A peninsula being squeezed

The strikes followed days of mounting pressure. Ukraine hit both ends of the Crimean Bridge corridor on 21 June, igniting the Kerch oil terminal. Occupation authorities then limited power and halted fuel sales. Crimea reported no petrol in open sale and scrapped children’s summer-camp intakes. Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in mid-June the strikes could turn Crimea into an island.