In Reply to: Is the Russian summer offensive over? posted by confused442 on August 26, 2025 at 03:08:58
The Russians are creating a catastrophe in Crimea that is spiraling out of control.
In the last few days, Russia cut off internet and other wireless communication services in Crimea as well as other places in occupied Ukraine.
Being cut off from the world is a dire condition during war time. It galvanizes fear and panic when you can’t talk to your loved ones and don’t know what’s going on in the world around you. This affects all civilians on the peninsula, including the Russian ones, and many soldiers too.
The cut off also prevents people from getting money from ATMs and many cash registers from working. There are a limited number of physical bank locations available as many banks have shut down since 2022. Reports indicate the local economy on Crimea is reverting to cash and there is insufficient cash in circulation. Many people have no money to buy food. Some storekeepers are allowing credit, but the there are long lines and shortages. Russian soldiers get some of their food and supplies from the civilian economy, so this also affects them.
Perhaps the most critical problem is the lack of water. In Crimea the water supply is cut off in many areas and people are drinking from contaminated sources, or getting water only once in a while from Russian deliveries. Many people have no water in their sewer lines and can’t use toilets.
In the last few days gasoline supplies on the peninsula (and in several other oblasts) have disappeared. In some oblasts, people are lining up for gas, with some lines reported at a kilometer long, or more. Anger is building and there are reports of fights breaking out in the lines.
The situation in Crimea looks like some cities in Germany near the end of WWII. Civilians, including Russians, are struggling to survive. It will only get worse as Ukraine continues targeting logistics and infrastructure the Russian military depends on. Just this morning there was a report of Ukraine hitting another airfield near one of the bays in the Black Sea.
Putin’s ability to defend and supply the peninsula is being degraded by the destructive consequences of his war. This affects his ability to use it as a base to support critical areas of the Russian offensive line in southern Ukraine. It is becoming more difficult to maintain logistics on and off the peninsula, and logistics are crucial to it’s survival as a Russian colony.
If Putin loses Crimea, it would probably be the end of the war, or at least, the beginning of the end. It will make it harder for him to hold other areas and likely throw the politics of his vertical of power into chaos. Crimea is, to many Russians, one of the “jewels in the crown” and it’s loss would be a direct threat to Putin’s control.