Time machines have appeared in Yevpatoria and Dzhankoy: push-button phones have begun to be installed in city centers, which can be used to call an ambulance or the fire department. The occupiers aren’t even trying to hide it: there’s virtually no cell service, and it’s unclear when it will be restored. And there are almost no landline phones left in Crimeans’ homes. Ediye, a resident of Yevpatoria, says she’d almost forgotten what street pay phones looked like herself, and had to explain to her six-year-old grandson what they were. 

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“We were out walking with him yesterday; he saw one, got curious, and I told him that when I was a kid, those were the only phones we had. He said, ‘Oh, cool, but I don’t get it — how did you play on them? And how did you send messages?’ And then: ‘So, Bitashka, maybe we should order a pizza?’” the woman laughs.

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Meanwhile, residents of Armyansk, who had been without electricity for 17 consecutive days, were reminded that the benefits of modern civilization still exist. People received their bills for internet and cable TV and discovered that the amounts on the bills were exactly the same as in June.

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“I’ve been out of work for a month now, my wife is on maternity leave with our daughter, we barely have enough for food, and now it turns out we have to shell out another 1,500 for internet and cable. Are you kidding me? Well, I have some free time, so I went to figure it out. So their manager tells me: as long as the state of emergency is in effect, there will be no adjustments. “And when will it end?” I ask. “That state of emergency?” And he says to me, “Ask whoever imposed it,”” says Mikhail, a resident of Armyansk, indignantly.

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Having money in a bank account doesn’t mean you can actually buy anything with it — that’s another revelation July 2026 brought to residents of northern Crimea. Without electricity, you can only pay in cash at stores and pharmacies. And there are only three ATMs in all of Krasnoperekopsk that run on an uninterruptible power supply. People are trying to withdraw as much money as possible, so these ATMs run out of cash quickly.

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