Russia's fuel crisis intensifies as Ukraine steps up strikes on occupied territories

Key Points:

• Ukraine's intensified drone attacks on Russian-occupied territories, particularly targeting supply routes to Crimea, have severely disrupted Moscow's logistics and worsened a fuel crisis in the region.
• Key infrastructure such as motorways and bridges linking Rostov to Crimea via Mariupol have been repeatedly struck, causing long fuel queues, rationing at petrol stations, and soaring prices, affecting both civilians and Russian tourists.
• The disruption extends to military logistics, with shortages impacting Russian troops in southern occupied Ukraine, as Ukraine shifts from attacking large refineries to smaller, local fuel distribution networks.
• Ukrainian drone units report minimal resistance from Russian air defenses, focusing on striking fuel storage and transport to cripple Russian military capabilities, though some attacks have resulted in civilian casualties, which Ukraine denies targeting deliberately.
• The ongoing strikes have led to restricted civilian movement on key roads in occupied regions, aligning with Ukraine's strategy to pressure Russia by targeting its supply chains and "bringing the war home."