Russian-installed authorities have declared a regional state of emergency in occupied Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, citing the need to simplify financial and administrative procedures following recent Ukrainian attacks.
The announcement was made by Russia-appointed head of occupied Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, who said the emergency regime came into effect at 1:00 p.m. on June 26.
Aksyonov claimed that the measure is intended to streamline financial, credit and contractual procedures, as well as facilitate compensation for damage.
The decision follows a series of Ukrainian strikes on the occupied peninsula. In recent days, Crimea and Sevastopol have experienced power outages, while an energy crisis that began in late May has continued to disrupt daily life. Authorities have restricted fuel sales and suspended the admission of children to summer camps for the remainder of the season, although the tourist season has not been formally canceled.
Traffic also built up at the approaches to the Crimean Bridge on Thursday morning. Telegram channel “Crimean Bridge: оперативная информация” announced that around 1,000 vehicles were waiting for inspection on the Taman side, while nearly 1,800 vehicles queued on the Kerch side. Drivers reportedly faced waiting times of between three and four hours for manual inspections.
The congestion followed a nearly six-hour overnight closure of the bridge after a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack targeting occupied Crimea.
Earlier, Ukraine confirmed carrying out drone strikes on the Kerch shipbuilding plant and two Russian vessels operating near the occupied peninsula.
Since the spring of 2026, Ukrainian forces have significantly expanded long-range drone strikes against targets inside Russia and in occupied Crimea. Recent operations have targeted military facilities, defense industry enterprises, oil refineries, fuel terminals and key transport infrastructure used to support Russia’s military campaign.
The sustained attacks have also affected fuel supplies. Russian authorities have imposed restrictions on gasoline sales in parts of the country, while reports from occupied Crimea indicate that the peninsula is experiencing a severe fuel shortage.
Illustrative photo: The resort city of Alushta, September 7, 2021.
