Aqmescit (Simferopol)

The Crimean capital has the best electricity situation on the peninsula. For the most part, power is available throughout the city. It is most often cut off in the southern suburb of Maryino, where Crimean Tatars live in a compact community. There is no panic among the city’s residents. However, people with young children are considering leaving Crimea in the fall: Crimeans are bracing for a winter without heating. Food prices have currently risen by 40–50 percent. The price of bread has gone up from 40 rubles to 55 rubles in a week. A liter of cooking oil has risen from 130 to 190 rubles

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Bakhchisaray

Power is cut off for 3–5 hours every day. However, the city isn’t complaining, because in the villages of the Bakhchysaray district, there are almost constant blackouts. Electricity is supplied for an hour and a half a day. Refrigerators don’t have enough time to keep food frozen during this period, so people are unable to stock up on perishable goods. Those with old wells keep their food above the water, as that is the only place with a consistently cool temperature. With winter approaching, even city dwellers are considering installing potbelly stoves.

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Dzhankoy

For most Crimeans, this is a high-risk zone. The city is a hub for occupying forces and military equipment, so it is under constant attack by Ukrainian forces. Rising prices for sugar, grains, and cooking oil have left both stores and shoppers without these essentials. Wholesalers cannot deliver goods to retail chains due to a lack of fuel. In many places, the shelves in Dzhankoy are half-empty. The region is agricultural, and farmers are forced to buy gasoline at the current price. As of the end of last week, it stood at 400 rubles (nearly 5 euros) per liter.

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“Across the Bridge”

All fuel enters Crimea from the Russian mainland. The largest oil depot supplying the peninsula is located in Novorossiysk. However, there are problems with its operations: on June 8, attacks by the Ukrainian Defense Forces caused a major fire. This oil depot contains tanks holding both crude oil and finished fuel. According to our information, the priority right now is exporting gasoline, so the shortage for local residents will increase. Even if there are no further attacks on the Novorossiysk depot, by the end of summer, gasoline sales to private consumers may be halted altogether.

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