News from occupied Ukraine: Crimea faces food shortages amid Ukrainian strikes on Russian logistics

This weekly update from the Kyiv Independent aims to shed light on the situation facing Ukrainians living under Russian occupation and the ever-tightening control of information imposed by the Kremlin.

Key news as of June 8:

• Crimea faces food shortages amid Ukraine's intensified drone attacks
• Bridge linking Crimea to southern Ukraine damaged in drone strike, Ukrainian military confirms
• Ukraine's drones take aerial control over part of land route to Russian-occupied Crimea, military says
• 'First such operation in modern history' — Ukraine destroys Russia's drone base at occupied Donetsk Airport
• 'Heavy attack' hits Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant, IAEA says
• Ukraine capable of striking all of Russia's military logistics in occupied territories, Zelensky says

Russian-occupied Crimea is facing food shortages "with increasing frequency" amid Ukraine's intensified drone attacks, the National Resistance Center of Ukraine reported on June 8.

"The occupiers are facing increasing difficulties with logistics and the supply of goods," the National Resistance Center of Ukraine wrote on Telegram.

The report comes as Ukraine intensifies efforts to disrupt Russian logistics routes supplying occupied Crimea and front-line forces in southern Ukraine.

According to residents of Crimea, supplies of sugar, salt, pasta, grains, and flour have significantly decreased on the occupied peninsula, the center said.

The center added that some retail chains have introduced restrictions on sales to individual customers, heightening anxiety among the population.

Crimea's PUD retail chain has introduced restrictions on the sale of several products, including butter, pasta, grains, flour, and water, the Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported on June 8.

Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation, shared a video on Telegram on June 6 that allegedly showed a Dobrostroy store in occupied Crimea limiting customers to three bottles of vegetable oil and three packets of pasta per person.

"Following a series of strikes on the R-280 Novorossiya motorway and the logistics infrastructure of the land corridor to Crimea, fuel shortages began to gradually give way to supply shortages of certain goods," Andriushchenko said.

Russian-installed authorities in occupied Crimea on May 30-31 introduced fuel rationing measures after Ukrainian strikes on the land corridor connecting the occupied peninsula with mainland Russia disrupted fuel supplies.

The National Resistance Center of Ukraine also said that demand has risen significantly due to the large number of migrants and military personnel brought to Crimea by Russia.

Russia has occupied Crimea and part of the eastern Donbas region since the start of its war against Ukraine in 2014, and has since expanded its military presence there, using the occupied territories and its people to support its war effort.

Bridge linking Crimea to southern Ukraine damaged in drone strike, Ukrainian military confirms

A bridge near the village of Chonhar connecting occupied Crimea with Russian-controlled parts of southern Ukraine was damaged in a Ukrainian drone strike overnight on June 7, the Ukrainian military confirmed, releasing video footage of the operation.

Earlier on June 7, Volodymyr Saldo, the Russian-installed head of the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, claimed the bridge had been damaged by Ukrainian drones.

The attack on the Chonhar Bridge was a joint operation of Ukraine's Code 9.2 drone unit and the 1st Separate Assault Battalion, the military said. The strategic aim was to cut off Russian troops' only means of delivering personnel, ammunition, and fuel to the front lines near Huliaipole from occupied Crimea.

"This was done specifically to block the supply routes for fuel and lubricants for the the 37th Motor Rifle Brigade," said Dmytro Filatov (call sign "Perun"), commander of the 1st Separate Assault Battalion.

The attack was carried out with Ukraine's homemade Fire Point drones and new a long-range Behemoth UAV, the military said. The strike caused significant damage to the bridge, which will require "a colossal amount of work" to replace, according to Code 9.2 Unit Commander Oleksandr Nastenko.

Ukraine's drones take aerial control over part of land route to Russian-occupied Crimea, military says

Drone operators from Ukraine's 3rd Special Operations Forces Regiment have taken aerial control of part of Russia's land supply route to occupied Crimea, the military reported on June 6.

According to the statement, Ukrainian drones are capable of targeting Russian equipment and logistics along the Melitopol-Chonhar route in Ukraine's south, which leads to Crimea, occupied by Russia since 2014.

The regiment said this has complicated Russian military supply and fuel logistics to Crimea. In recent weeks, the peninsula has continued to experience fuel shortages stemming from Ukrainian strikes on supply routes and oil infrastructure.

"This is just the beginning. More to come," the Ukrainian military said, releasing a video purportedly showing drone strikes.

'First such operation in modern history' — Ukraine destroys Russia's drone base at occupied Donetsk Airport

Ukrainian drone units have carried out a series of successful attacks on the Russian-occupied Donetsk Airport, disrupting Moscow's attempt to turn the facility into a military base, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) reported on June 4.

The USF's 14th regiment is "systematically destroying enemy infrastructure, making the airport's operation impossible," the military said.

Occupying Russian forces had converted the Donetsk Airport into a strategic launch pad for Shahed-type UAVs, attack drones Russia sends by the hundreds to target Ukrainian cities overnight. These are operated by Russia's elite Rubikon drone unit, which is based at the airport.

The airport also served as a logistics hub for the Russian military, the USF's 14th regiment said.

"A decision was made to carry out systematic preemptive strikes that will disrupt enemy launches and reduce the number of enemy drones that will once again fly to attack kindergartens, high-rise buildings, and hospitals," said Serafym "Falcon" Hordiienko, an officer in the USF's 14th regiment who planned the operation.

Hordiienko described the strike campaign on the Donetsk Airport as "the first such operation in modern history."

'Heavy attack' hits Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant, IAEA says

The Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant, whose switchyard helps transmit electricity to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, came under a "heavy attack" on the morning of June 4, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on X.

The IAEA did not specify whether the attack was carried out by Russian or Ukrainian forces, noting that its team observed smoke rising from the thermal power plant and heard the sound of "military activity."

The nuclear power plant experienced its 17th blackout since the start of the full-scale invasion on June 3, its fifth so far in 2026. The outage was caused by a drone strike on the Nikopolska substation, which is located in Ukrainian-controlled territory on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River from the plant, and is regularly affected by Russian attacks.

The IAEA said the June 4 incident is a matter of "serious concern" due to the facility's reliance on a single remaining power line supplying electricity to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. In recent weeks, the line has been repeatedly cut, forcing the station to rely on emergency diesel generators to cool its six reactors.

The power line remains connected to the nuclear power plant, while staff at the facility remained in shelters as of the morning of June 4, according to the statement.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi called for an end to the attacks in order to avoid the risk of an extended loss-of-power incident at the facility.

Ukraine capable of striking all of Russia's military logistics in occupied territories, 15 oil refineries hit, Zelensky says

Ukraine is now capable of striking all of Moscow's military logistics in the occupied territories, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 1.

"Our warriors now have the capability to reach Russian military logistics across virtually the entire depth of the temporarily occupied territory. There are practically no safe roads left for the occupier in the south and east of our state," he said in an evening address.

Zelensky's claim comes after the Third Army Corps on May 31 said that Ukrainian drones gained control over key Russian military supply routes in occupied parts of Luhansk Oblast.

"Luhansk, Starobilsk, Alchevsk, Brianka, and Kadiivka are now under the control of the Third Army Corps' unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)," Third Army Corps commander Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi said.

Ukraine is expanding its middle strike campaign, targeting military assets at the operational depth of roughly 20 to 300 kilometers (12 to 186 miles) from the front line.

"This is also reflected in shortages — above all, fuel shortages in Crimea and in our other regions under occupation. The plan of our long-range sanctions is being implemented step by step. Between January and May this year, our warriors struck 15 Russian oil refineries. This is significant," Zelensky said.

On May 30, the Russian-installed head of occupied Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, announced that as of May 31, "sales of 95-octane gasoline at ATAN and TES gas stations will be carried out only via vouchers," referring to the two largest fuel service chains on the peninsula.