Moscow-appointed officials in Crimea reported that at least four people were killed and 28 wounded in Ukrainian drone strikes targeting an oil depot and fuel facilities used by Russia to supply its forces. The attacks occurred overnight on June 20 local time.
Sergey Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed head of Crimea, confirmed the casualties. Meanwhile, local authorities in Russia's Krasnodar region, just east of Crimea, said a Ukrainian drone attack on an oil transshipment facility killed one person aboard a passenger ferry and sparked a fire at an oil depot.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down 239 Ukrainian drones overnight. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that his country struck an oil depot in the Crimean city of Kerch and an oil transshipment facility in Krasnodar.
Social media channels circulated reports of explosions and fires across various parts of Crimea. The Telegram channel Krymsky Veter reported a fire at a fuel depot in Kerch, a port at the eastern tip of the peninsula, with images showing a large column of smoke enveloping the city.
Russian authorities closed the Kerch bridge to Krasnodar overnight to halt traffic.
Ukraine has recently intensified drone attacks on Crimea, home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet, targeting supply routes and causing a fuel crisis as the summer tourist season begins. A local power grid operator reported blackouts in several areas due to damaged electrical infrastructure.
Moscow-appointed Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram that fuel deliveries were delayed and plans to distribute gasoline to residents on June 21 were canceled, with fuel now reserved for public services.
Crimea's tourism industry forecasts millions of vacationers will avoid the peninsula this summer, a once-popular destination for Russian tourists. Russia occupied and annexed Crimea in March 2014 after a controversial referendum rejected by the international community. Since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has used the peninsula to launch attacks on Ukrainian territory.
