Russian-Occupied Crimea Facing Gasoline Shortages After Ukrainian Bridge Strike

Crimea is facing a shortage of gasoline after Ukraine last month bombed the only bridge connecting the Russian-controlled peninsula to Russia.

Gasoline stations in Crimea have at times run out of the oil product over the past month, residents have told RFE/RL.

One of the leading gasoline chains in Crimea sent clients a text message last week urging them to stock up on the product amid concerns about a shortfall, residents said.

Russia, one of the world’s largest producers of oil products, has been supplying the peninsula with gasoline and other oil products via rail across the $4 billion Crimea Bridge, which opened in 2018.

Ukraine’s armed forces on July 17 struck the bridge for the second time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion last year. The strike forced Russia to halt oil product shipments by rail.

The bridge has become a key Ukrainian target as it tries to drive Russian forces from its territory, including Crimea. Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.

Oil products are now delivered via a slow ferry crossing that can only take place during the day.

Local residents have taken to social media to complain about the lack of gasoline.

“There is no 95 [octane] for the third day in a row, especially at Atan (gasoline station chain),” one resident posted on a Sevastopol community page on Vkontake, a Russian social network.

Following the July 17 bombing, Russian-installed Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev tried to calm residents, assuring them there “won’t be a deficit” and said there was no need to stock up.

SEE ALSO: Crimean Beaches 'Nearly Empty' Amid Russian Military Buildup

“Misha, what’s up with gasoline? ” one resident wrote last week under Razvozhaev’s Telegram channel, using the diminutive form of the governor’s first name in a sign of their displeasure. “Do tankers only ship [Russian oil products] overseas?"

Some residents said gasoline can be found if you look for it. If some cases you need a ration card to fill up.

“There is no gasoline at some gas stations. But there are plenty of those where it is sold freely. So you can find it when you need to fill up. I've filled up a full tank, and I only drive when its important business,” one resident told RFE/RL.

“There is gasoline, but you need a ration card. When I hear this, I feel that we have stepped 35 years into the past when you could only get sausage with a ration card,” Nadezhda Golovanova wrote on a Sevastopol social media page, referring to food deficits during the perestroika years.

WATCH: A section of the Crimea Bridge was damaged by a deadly explosion last month. Moscow said two people were killed and a child was injured in the blast that it blamed on Ukrainian maritime drones.

Moscow Blames Kyiv For Deadly Crimea Bridge Blast

Ukraine has sought to make life in Crimea untenable for Russia in an attempt to regain control of the peninsula.

With the receipt of new Western weapons and the development of indigenous ones, including drones, it has been making progress with that goal.

Kyiv has stepped up its targeting of Crimea in recent months and is also trying to cut off the land bridge from Russia to Crimea through the Donetsk region with its latest counteroffensive. Ukraine has recently hit two bridges connecting Crimea to Ukrainian territory under Russian control.

Ukrainian military officials say the situation with supplies for residents will only get worse as Russia will need to prioritize deliveries to its military on Crimea.

Oleksandr Khmelevskiy, an independent expert, told RFE/RL that this could lead to social unrest, putting pressure on Moscow.

“If the economic situation deteriorates significantly, support for the war from the population will decrease significantly. The further it goes, the more difficult it will be to explain to the population what Russia is fighting for, what this war was required for,” he said.