AFU intensify pressure on Crimea, situation becomes difficult for the Russian army
Massive and diverse attacks by the Ukrainian Defense Forces on military and transport facilities in Crimea and its approaches are part of a unified strategic plan. The BBC analyzes how the Ukrainian command is consistently carrying out a campaign to completely isolate the Crimean peninsula, forcing the Russian army to simultaneously defend targets in the air, at sea, and on land.
Several railway lines lead to Crimea, but they all converge in Dzhankoy. Photo: Bloomberg via Getty Images
Hunting for trains and destroying bridges
A direct strike by a Ukrainian drone on express passenger train No. 68 Moscow — Simferopol occurred on June 7, 2026. The drone damaged the locomotive, as a result of which the assistant driver was killed and the driver himself was injured. After this incident, the scheduled movement of passenger trains on the peninsula was temporarily suspended. The Kremlin reacted to the attack with a statement that such actions "significantly complicate" attempts at peaceful negotiations.
On the same day, Ukrainian forces attacked the road bridge across the Chongar Strait, which connects Crimea with the Kherson region.
Russian authorities had to divert all traffic bypass through Armyansk.
The combination of these strikes led to a sharp deterioration of an already acute fuel crisis — the free sale of gasoline on the peninsula was completely suspended.
Paralysis of the Black Sea Fleet and sea "ferries"
For a transport blockade, Ukraine is methodically destroying Russia's ability to supply Crimea from the sea. After Russia lost the ability to safely use the waters, its large landing ships were transformed into ordinary sea ferries for transporting military cargo.
Thanks to successful attacks by uncrewed naval vessels and missiles, the AFU sank the BDK "Saratov", "Novocherkassk" and "Tsezar Kunikov", and also seriously damaged "Minsk", "Olenegorsky Gornyak", "Yamal" and "Nikolai Filchenkov". This forced the Russian Black Sea Fleet to evacuate its main combat ships from Crimean ports to Novorossiysk.
The dry cargo fleet also comes under attack: only in June, vessels in the ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol were attacked.
Sky over Crimea
An important condition for carrying out long-range attacks is the systematic destruction of Russian air defense on the peninsula, as it precisely prevents the widespread use of drones.
According to Ukrainian estimates, over the winter and early spring, Russia lost about 80 air defense systems, a significant part of which were located specifically in Crimea.
A major pro-Russian Telegram channel "Voenny Osvedomitel" then wrote that Russian air defense on the peninsula could collapse as early as 2026, or would begin to "pull" air defense assets from other regions.
To carry out strikes, Ukraine actively uses middle-strike class drones with a range of about 200 kilometers. They are controlled via Starlink satellite communication in online mode, which makes them invulnerable to Russian electronic warfare systems and allows operators to bypass air defense positions along complex trajectories.
Railway vulnerability and the Dzhankoy factor
Russian military logistics is traditionally and critically tied to railways, as it is impossible to replace heavy freight trains with road transport. However, railway lines have a major flaw — high vulnerability. Stopping even one train completely disrupts the traffic schedule on an entire direction, and repair work requires a lot of time.
Crimea can be reached by rail from Russia via the Crimean Bridge, or via the isthmus from other occupied territories of Ukraine
The construction of a new railway line from Rostov-on-Don through Mariupol to Dzhankoy is not yet complete, and it is already falling under Ukrainian drones.
The weakest point of this system is the Dzhankoy railway junction, where all branches converge that supply the central and western parts of Crimea. Systematic attacks on this hub are capable of completely paralyzing the region's defense.
Will it be possible to cut off Crimea?
Russian military correspondents are very anxiously evaluating the AFU's tactics for destroying infrastructure on the isthmuses.
"In general, what many people involved in the process already understood has happened. The enemy is consistently implementing a plan for the transport isolation of Crimea," writes z-military correspondent Zhivov.
Russian bloggers believe that Kyiv is deliberately channeling all transport flows exclusively to the Kerch Bridge, in order to then deliver a single decisive strike against it.
The "Two Majors" channel confirms the scale of the problem:
"This seriously complicates both military and civilian logistics: supply disruptions arise, fuel problems, the situation with it in Crimea is very difficult, despite the region's efforts."
At the same time, the head of the analytical organization Conflict Intelligence Team, Ruslan Leviev, believes that it is too early to talk about complete fire control over the routes, as they are located more than 100 km from the front line, and an abnormally large number of drones would be needed for their complete blocking.
In his opinion, the strikes create "a serious problem for the Russian armed forces, but not a critical one."
Nevertheless, the overall nature of the impact on Crimea remains comprehensive.
The Ukrainian Defense Forces are forcing the Russian command to disperse resources, simultaneously patching holes in the defense of oil depots, ports, airfields, and now also urgently seeking means to protect rolling stock.