Ukraine is steadily isolating Crimea from Russia, ISW says
Russia has lost control over ferry operations linking Crimea (photo: Getty Images)
Ukraine is conducting a systematic campaign against Russian forces in Crimea, and each new strike in the Kerch Strait is bringing the peninsula closer to a logistical collapse, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
What was burning at Port Kavkaz
Ukrainian forces struck Port Kavkaz on the Chushka Spit in Russia's Krasnodar region, located just north of the Kerch Bridge. A fuel storage tank farm and the territory of an oil depot caught fire there.
This oil depot supplies fuel to Crimea and southern Ukraine.
Geolocated footage confirmed the fire at Port Kavkaz. Images taken northeast of the port show at least three ferries burning.
The TES-Terminal-1 oil depot in Kerch also came under attack. Russia uses this facility to transfer fuel oil, liquefied gas, and fuel across the Kerch Strait.
The terminal is located less than one kilometer from the Kerch Bridge and is used to refuel Russian ferries operating between Crimea and Port Kavkaz. Geolocated footage confirmed a fire at the facility.
Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-installed head of Crimea, confirmed that drones struck the peninsula during the night of June 21, but he did not specify the targets.
On the same day, Aksyonov announced a ban on fuel sales to all non-state organizations at gas stations across Crimea without explaining the reason.
What is happening in the Kerch Strait area
The operational headquarters of Russia's Krasnodar region reported a temporary suspension of ferry traffic across the Kerch Strait. Cargo transport was advised to use a detour route through Mariupol, Melitopol, and Simferopol.
One prominent Russian military blogger noted that only seven ferries are currently operating in the strait crossing area. Damage to even three of them could significantly complicate logistics between Crimea and mainland Russia.
The energy company Krymenergo introduced electricity consumption restrictions on June 21, citing unspecified accidents at Crimean power grid facilities. Residents reported power outages in Armiansk, Alushta, Simferopol, Sevastopol, and Dzhankoi.
Why Ukraine is striking this area
Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Major Robert Brovdi (call sign Madyar), explained the logic behind the operation: Ukraine is systematically destroying air defense systems, reducing Russia's Black Sea Fleet's presence on the peninsula, and disrupting logistics and energy infrastructure in the region.
The goal is to deprive the Kremlin of the ability to use Crimea as a staging ground for new offensive operations.
Russia has two supply routes to Crimea: the so-called land corridor through the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, and the Kerch Bridge and ferry connections. Ukraine intensified strikes on both routes in June 2026 after beginning a systematic campaign against the land corridor in May.
On June 21, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also reported continued strikes on railway bridges across the North Crimean Canal near Rozdolne (Kherson region) and Chongar, which Russia uses to transport personnel and ammunition.
According to a Kremlin-linked military blogger, the campaign against Russian maritime logistics between Crimea and Russia's Krasnodar region began in mid-2025, when Ukraine started using drones to attack tankers and other vessels in the Sea of Azov.
During the night of June 21, explosions were reported in several parts of Crimea, and traffic on the Kerch Bridge was temporarily suspended. A large column of black smoke was seen rising over Kerch from a fire near the seaport.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed details of the nighttime operation, saying the strikes targeted facilities on both sides of the Kerch Bridge at a distance of about 300 kilometers from the front line.
