The Ukrainian military successfully cut off the occupied Crimea peninsula from mainland Russia over the past week by disabling fuel and electricity supply lines, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported on Friday. The wide-scale unmanned operation, code-named Molochka, commenced on July 6 under the direction of Ukraine’s unmanned forces commander Robert Brovdi. According to military statements, the primary objective was to paralyze the feeder fleet of Russian courier tankers operating in the region. These flat-bottomed vessels transport critical fuel supplies from the Volga-Don Canal and the Sea of Azov to larger transport ships waiting in the Black Sea.
During the opening ten days of the operation running until July 16, Ukrainian drone forces successfully struck 147 tankers belonging to the Russian shadow fleet. Military command confirmed that 117 of these targeted vessels were located within the Sea of Azov, while the remaining ships were intercepted in the Black Sea. By Monday, July 13, maritime movement through the Kerch Strait was completely halted, reducing oil unloading operations in Crimea to an absolute minimum. The Kremlin-appointed governor of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, declared a region-wide state of emergency and admitted that local authorities could no longer guarantee stable daily gasoline distributions at stations.
In tandem with the naval blockade, the Security Service of Ukraine carried out coordinated strikes on the night of July 13 against military ferries and oil transshipment hubs. The strategic campaign also targeted the peninsula`s electrical grid, damaging the Saky thermal power plant on July 9 before striking five major electricity substations the following day. An additional nine substations and the vital Kuban-Crimea electricity transfer link were severely damaged by long-range drones on July 13. Ukrainian commanders noted that these systematic strikes have made a total and prolonged regional blackout completely inevitable for the occupied territory.
In response to the deteriorating domestic conditions, Governor Aksyonov announced emergency financial interventions for local businesses alongside the distribution of 4,000 free pressurized gas canisters to affected households. Although Russian President Vladimir Putin approved emergency subsidies to stabilize the peninsula, local occupation administrators stated they have no definitive timeline for returning public utilities to normal operation. What remains unclear is how this unprecedented drone-led blockade will impact the broader logistics of Russian front-line forces in southern Ukraine over the coming months. The local population continues to experience severe disruptions as public transit systems and municipal lighting remain shut off to conserve dwindling resources.
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskii reported that his forces have conducted 7,028 successful mid-range drone strikes since the beginning of 2026, with activity accelerating significantly during May and June. The campaign expanded further on July 7 when Russian security forces alleged that Ukraine attempted to sabotage the main compressor station of the TurkStream gas pipeline. The pipeline transmits approximately 16.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually to Turkiye and Southeast Europe. Commenting on the escalation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated to reporters in Moscow that the actions of the Ukrainian government constitute pure terrorism rather than conventional maritime piracy.
