Ukraine's Presidential Office chief explains endgame behind Crimea strikes
Photo: Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Presidential Office (RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine is striking targets in Crimea for the sake of a greater goal, says Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
Crimea is in the news almost every day now. After the successful long-range sanctions, gasoline began to run out on the peninsula, and along with it, many collaborators. They are rushing to leave the peninsula.
When asked about the purpose of Ukraine’s diplomatic strikes in Crimea, as well as what message can be conveyed to Crimeans who are waiting and believing that Ukraine will return, Budanov replied:
Budanov wants Ukrainians still living under occupation there to understand that their homeland has not been written off — "Crimea is Ukraine, and this bond can never be severed by anyone," he says.
Ukraine's Presidential Office chief explains endgame behind Crimea strikes pic.twitter.com/RnEqmh0p90
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) July 7, 2026
In addition to successful strikes against the Russians, there are social problems, such as a gasoline shortage, which can affect the population.
Fuel shortages, rolling blackouts, and the water outages that follow from them are, in his words, simply facts of life there now. He frames the hardship as the price of a larger goal. "All these inconveniences are for the sake of a larger goal, and that larger goal is coming home," he says.
Ukraine must now cut off all southern logistics routes because Russia is supplying the Dnepr military group through Crimea.
Large-scale water outages have begun on the occupied peninsula. This is all due to power outages in the electrical grid. Major problems with electricity and water are being observed simultaneously in nine large settlements on the peninsula.
Yesterday, the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck another oil depot in Crimea and an oil tanker. It is part of Russia’s fuel logistics. As a result of Ukraine’s long-range strikes, large-scale fires broke out.
