Foreign Affairs

2naSalit

(104,897 posts) Sun Jun 28, 2026, 04:21 PM 20 hrs ago

Russians flee Crimea; residents lose faith in Russia, with some selling their homes and leaving - Kanal13

Radio Liberty reports that a traffic jam over 10 kilometers long has been recorded in front of the Kerch Bridge exiting occupied Crimea . The queue starts at the checkpoint before the bridge and stretches to the area of the village of Ivanovka in the Kerch district. Crimean residents are increasingly writing on social media that they want to leave, either permanently or at least temporarily, because normal life on the peninsula is becoming impossible : gasoline is running out, power is going out, and roads and crossings are intermittent.

This is happening against the backdrop of a fuel crisis, power outages and constant blows to the peninsula's logistics. The Crimean Bridge is regularly closed due to missile threats, air defense activity, or the threat of attacks by Ukrainian naval drones. Occupation authorities have also increased security checks at checkpoints, further paralyzing both civilian and military logistics between Crimea and Russia. Military channels report that Ukraine continues to turn Crimea into an island: the bridge, crossings, fuel, energy, railways, and land routes through the occupied territories are under pressure. For Russia, this is a painful image, as the peninsula, which the Kremlin called its "home haven," now increasingly resembles an isolated trap.

People are standing in kilometre-long queues to leave, and the remaining supply routes are becoming increasingly vulnerable. The Economist writes that, amid Ukraine's constant attacks on occupied Crimea, residents of the peninsula are increasingly losing faith in Russia's ability to protect them. This is especially painful for Moscow: Crimea, once the main symbol of Putin's "imperial return," is now turning into a territory of air raid sirens, the dangers of war, and a lack of gasoline, electricity, and security. Putin's promises have now turned out to be a fiction. Particularly painful for Russia is the fact that some residents who previously pinned their hopes for stability on Moscow now see no future on the peninsula. Many pensioners and pro-Russian Crimeans welcomed Russia's arrival in 2014, expecting investment, social benefits, and a peaceful life. But ten years later, sentiment is changing. Sevastopol resident Nikolai Chestyakov says local businessmen once dreamed of developing the city: making it the center of a naval base, winemaking, a commercial port, or even cryptocurrency mining. Now, he says, people see the situation differently. "People no longer see any prospects for the future.

Those with money are trying to buy property in other Russian regions and moving there with their families," he said. According to the publication, the emergency warning systems in Crimea weren't turned off because it made things safer. One local official admitted on the radio that otherwise, "the sirens would have been blaring 22 hours a day , and no one would have been able to sleep." But residents suspect that the authorities are more concerned about the collapse of the tourist season than about sleeplessness.

Maintaining a semblance of normal life is becoming increasingly difficult: military units, railway stations, and power plants have been under attack for several months now. Strikes on the peninsula have not only military but also symbolic significance for Russia. Crimea serves as a staging area and military supply base for the Russian army. But it is also a territory that Putin turned into the main trophy of his policy in 2014. The nearly bloodless seizure of the peninsula then became a moment of triumph for the Kremlin and dramatically boosted Putin's popularity.