Crimea declares state of emergency as Ukraine launches largest drone attack in weeks

State of emergency in Crimea

Russia-installed authorities in Crimea declared a regional state of emergency on 26 June after weeks of Ukrainian drone strikes against the peninsula's power grid and supply lines. The move suspends electricity in some areas, halts fuel sales to residents, and closes children's summer camps.

The emergency legal framework allows us to resolve, as quickly as possible, issues of maintaining the functioning of all essential sectors.

Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razozhaev said the emergency would remain “until the situation improves” and would allow businesses and residents to invoke force majeure clauses for compensation. Ferry services in Sevastopol Bay were suspended Wednesday morning and trains connecting Crimea to Russia had been cut by half, with bus replacements at Kerch.

Zelensky signals willingness to talk, approves strategic operation

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is ready for possible leadership-level meetings to end the war, but that Russia must also take a step. “Ukraine has put forward proposals to key partners, and Putin's friends heard from us that a meeting is possible, and the end of this war is possible,” he said in an evening video message. Earlier, he confirmed the release of 160 Ukrainian service members held since 2022.

They defended Ukraine in Mariupol and at the Azovstal plant, as well as on the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy fronts.

Zelensky also approved a 40-day “strategic influence operation” drafted by the SBU security service with the goal of “compelling Russia to end the war.” Details remain classified.

Massive overnight drone barrage

Hours after Zelensky's announcement, Ukrainian forces launched what Russian defence officials called one of the largest drone attacks since the start of the invasion. The Russian defence ministry said air defences shot down 660 Ukrainian drones over more than a dozen regions, including Moscow, the occupied Crimean peninsula, and the Black and Azov seas. Over 700 drones were reported by Ukrainian sources.

The governor of Tula region, Dmitry Milyaev, said 157 drones were downed there and acknowledged damage to the Azot chemical plant in Novomoskovsk, where fires broke out. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said at least 47 drones were intercepted over the capital. One woman was wounded.

Fuel crisis spreads beyond Crimea

The Ukrainian campaign against Russian refineries and logistics corridors has triggered a broader fuel squeeze. By 22 June six Russian regions (Omsk, Irkutsk, Saratov, Voronezh, Amur and Tambov) had imposed purchase limits, with some stations capping sales at 20 litres per car. Long queues at petrol stations have become common.

Defence Express data shows Russia burned an estimated 545,000 litres of petrol in May just for Shahed-type attack drones, and about 350,000 litres in the first 26 days of June. The figures underline how Moscow's war effort competes with civilian needs, spawning a bitter domestic joke: if civilians started siphoning fuel from military Shahed depots, the fuel crisis might end overnight.