Ukraine destroys Crimea railway bridge, cuts power and fuel supply on peninsula

Ukrainian forces have destroyed a key railway bridge over the North Crimean Canal linking Crimea to Russian-controlled Kherson region, while a massive overnight drone strike set a Kerch power plant ablaze. Cities including Yevpatoria, Saky, Dzhankoi and Krasnoperekopsk have lost electricity entirely, and petrol sales to civilians have been suspended since June 21.

Ukrainian forces have struck Crimea with a series of coordinated attacks, destroying a railway bridge over the North Crimean Canal and knocking out power across major cities on the peninsula, marking a significant escalation in Kyiv's campaign to sever Russian logistics to the occupied territory.

Bridge destroyed, power out

Ukraine's Special Operations Forces published footage of the strike on the railway bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian-controlled portion of Kherson Oblast. The bridge, one of three rail crossings linking Crimea to the mainland, alongside the Kerch Bridge and the Chonhar crossing, has been described as completely destroyed. Russian authorities have not commented on the claim and independent verification is not yet available.

A separate mass drone attack overnight targeted a thermal power station in Kerch. The plant caught fire, with smoke visible for dozens of kilometres. As a result, entire cities, Yevpatoria, Saky, Dzhankoi and Krasnoperekopsk, lost electricity altogether. Russian-appointed Crimean authorities attributed the outages to «technological disruptions in electrical networks». Scheduled power rationing of just a few hours per day had already been in effect since the previous Sunday, when Ukrainian forces struck the peninsula's energy infrastructure in an earlier wave.

Fuel crisis deepens

The energy blackouts compound a worsening fuel crisis. Petrol sales to civilians at Crimean filling stations were halted entirely on June 21, with supplies now reserved exclusively for state services. For several weeks prior, fuel had only been available on a rationing card system.

In a partial concession to the crisis, Crimean authorities announced they would allow up to 200 litres of fuel per private vehicle to be brought across the Kerch Bridge, double the previous limit of 100 litres, which had been set to reduce the risk of a fire or explosion on the bridge from a drone strike on a loaded fuel transport.

Russian authorities are also attempting to pass responsibility for tourist fuel supplies onto hoteliers. According to the vice-president of the Russian Union of the Tourism Industry, Georgy Mokhov, hotels in Feodosia, Yevpatoria and Yalta have been instructed to inform arriving guests of the need to carry jerrycans of fuel and to provide conditions for safe storage.

"We will close down the beach season"

Ukraine's Ministry of Defence made no attempt to conceal the strategic intent behind the campaign. In a statement, the ministry said it was «closing down the beach season in Crimea», noting that an oil depot, gas compressor stations, radar systems and air defence complexes had all been struck in recent days. «The forecast for tourists is unfavourable,» the ministry said.

Alexander Pivnenko, commander of Ukraine's National Guard, signalled that the pressure would intensify: «We will increase the number of our pilots at operational depth and will destroy the enemy's logistics far more actively. [...] We will cut off the enemy's logistics so completely that it will be very hard for them.»

Kyiv signals diplomatic flexibility

Against the backdrop of Crimea's deteriorating situation, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, indicated that Kyiv may be open to adjusting its approach to ending hostilities. He urged the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution calling for the earliest possible ceasefire along the current front line, describing such a step as already a compromise on Ukraine's part, while adding that Kyiv was ready to «modify its approaches» in the near future.

Addressing Russia directly, Melnyk was blunt: «You will never be able to hold the occupied lands. Never. Get out of Ukraine as fast as possible.»

Frontline city evacuates

Elsewhere, the eastern Ukrainian city of Druzhkivka in the Kramatorsk agglomeration, home to more than 50,000 people before the war, is being evacuated as Russian forces close to within 15 kilometres of its outskirts. As of April 2026, some 6,000 residents remained; that number is now falling as the Russian advance accelerates.