Residents of Sevastopol, Simferopol, and other towns in annexed Crimea have begun complaining about emptying store shelves, Agenstvo reports. In a number of grocery stores, buckwheat, sugar, milk, butter, rice, flour, pasta, and other goods have disappeared.
Details. Some stores have introduced limits on the sale of certain goods. In one Sevastopol supermarket, for example, customers are allowed to buy no more than one package of dairy products, three bags of sugar, three bottles of sunflower oil, and so on.
The Telegram channel “Zhest Krym Simferopol Sevastopol” published a video from a store in Simferopol. The footage shows half-empty shelves with flour and sugar. Similar videos and photos are also being shared by members of local chats.
Residents of Feodosia, Bakhchysarai, and Sevastopol told Agenstvo that they had not personally encountered product shortages, but had seen such reports on social media.
Fuel crisis. Crimean residents began buying essential goods amid a fuel shortage that arose after Ukrainian attacks on the “Novorossiya” highway, along which fuel trucks were traveling.
Because of the crisis, gas stations imposed strict limits on fuel sales. Gasoline is being sold by coupons, and cash is not being accepted. Earlier, the Russian-appointed authorities in Crimea introduced gasoline sales via QR codes, but those quickly ran out.
At the same time, multi-kilometer traffic jams are forming daily on the highway linking Crimea with Krasnodar Krai. Tourists are being allowed to refuel with gasoline so they can leave the peninsula.
Attacks on other roads and facilities. At the same time, last night Ukrainian drones attacked the Chongar bridge connecting Kherson region with Crimea, according to Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed “head” of the occupied part of the region. According to him, traffic through the Dzhankoy road checkpoint has been temporarily suspended. Saldo urged drivers to use the Armyansk and Perekop checkpoints. No timeline has been given for restoring traffic through Dzhankoy.
The previous day, the press service of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO) said that Ukrainian forces had taken control of part of the land route connecting the occupied territories of southern Ukraine with Crimea. It said drones were striking equipment and logistics infrastructure on the Melitopol–Chongar axis.
Also this morning, traffic on the Crimean Bridge was halted for about an hour. No official reason was given. Traffic was later restored.
In addition, Ukraine’s SSO said today that during the night it had successfully attacked the Semikolodezyanskaya oil depot near the settlement of Edy-Kuyu (Lenino) and the marine oil terminal in Feodosia. These facilities were used, among other things, to supply Crimea residents with fuel.