Russian-installed authorities declared a state of emergency in Crimea on Friday, as repeated, intensified Ukrainian strikes on the peninsula lead to widespread power outages and fuel shortages.
Blackouts have plagued Sevastopol, the largest city in Russian-controlled Crimea, for days.
The Kremlin-installed governor of the city, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said Friday that restrictions to electricity supply would continue because repair work to the power grid had been suspended following air raid alerts prompted by Ukrainian drone activity.
Ukraine’s drone forces commander Robert Brovdi said Kyiv had attacked Sevastopol’s main power substation seven times in the early hours of Wednesday.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, a move widely condemned by the international community, after the Maidan protests ousted Ukraine’s then pro-Kremlin president, Viktor Yanukovych. The port city of Sevastopol was historically home to the headquarters for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
