Sevastopol Fuel Shortages

Ukraine is tightening its pressure on Russia’s logistics network in southern Ukraine, and the effects are now reaching deeper into occupied Crimea. New strikes on bridges linking occupied Kherson Oblast with Crimea have added to the strain on Russian ground lines of communication, while gasoline shortages in Sevastopol continue to worsen. That pressure is landing at a difficult moment for Russian forces. Ukrainian commanders say drone activity and mid-range strikes are scaling up fast, Russian casualty rates are outpacing recruitment, and Moscow is still trying to hide battlefield setbacks with fabricated footage and inflated claims of advance. Bridge strikes are disrupting Crimea-linked supply routes Kherson Oblast occupation head Vladimir Saldo said on June 11 that Ukrainian forces struck several bridges connecting occupied Kherson Oblast and Crimea overnight, including the bridge over the North Crimean Canal near Preobrazhenka and Myrne, the Perekop-Armyansk Road Bridge, and the Stavky Road Bridge. He said the strikes caused unspecified damage. The commander of a Ukrainian regiment operating in the Kherson direction said Ukrainian forces also hit a Russian logistics route to occupied Crimea through Armyansk, damaging or destroying about 50 Russian military cargo vehicles carrying fuel and ammunition. According to the commander, Russian forces had shifted logistics to the Armyansk route after earlier strikes damaged the Chonhar bridge. Satellite imagery and geolocated footage published on June 10 and June 11 showed damage after strikes on bridges south of Henichesk and near Armyansk. A Russian monitoring Telegram channel said recent attacks temporarily disabled all land routes to occupied Crimea from occupied Kherson Oblast. Fuel shortages in Sevastopol are getting worse Occupied Sevastopol is also facing worsening gasoline shortages. Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev said on June 10 that the occupation administration could not issue a new batch of QR codes for fuel purchases because fuel trucks were unable to reach the city on June 9 for unspecified reasons. The restrictions on fuel access have become tighter in recent weeks as Ukraine’s strike campaign against Russian transport arteries continues to disrupt supply. Occupation authorities now limit purchases to 20 liters per week, down from the previous cap of 20 liters per day. Ukraine says drone and strike pressure is rising Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi said on June 11 that Ukrainian FPV drones now outnumber Russian FPV drones on the battlefield by 1.5 to 1, and that the advantage is growing. He also said Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces struck almost 180,000 verified targets in May 2026, up 27 percent from April. Syrskyi said Ukrainian forces carried out about 2,000 mid-range strikes in May 2026, including attacks on 414 Russian headquarters, control points, and personnel concentrations. He added that Ukrainian forces completed 12,500 frontline tasks using unmanned ground vehicles. Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on June 7 that Ukrainian forces have killed or wounded about 35,000 Russian soldiers per month over the past six months, while Russia has recruited about 27,000 soldiers per month. He also said Ukrainian forces fired more missiles and drones at Russia than Russian defenses could stop for the first time in March 2026. Syrskyi said Ukrainian forces have killed 12,500 more Russian soldiers than Russia has recruited since the start of 2026. He also said Russian unmanned systems units are short of personnel, with only 14,500 people signing military service contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense, or 21 percent of the annual recruitment plan for drone and unmanned systems specialists. Moscow is building for a longer confrontation with NATO Satellite imagery reported by Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish broadcasters and a Baltic news portal shows Russia expanding and building military bases along its northern border with NATO. Danish intelligence officers and senior military officials told DR that the construction points to preparation for conflict, not a confirmed Kremlin decision to go to war. Former Finnish intelligence officer Marko Eklund said the Russian command plans to have about 115,000 troops stationed at the northern border with NATO after the war in Ukraine ends. He also said Russia has begun building a new base in Novaya Vilza near Petrozavodsk that will accommodate between 4,000 and 6,000 personnel. Finnish Army Chief Pasi Valimaki said Finland expects Russia to station 80,000 soldiers at the Russia-Finland border. A source reporting on the Russian Northern Grouping of Forces said elements of the 44th Army Corps are being relocated to Karelia, while a Kremlin-affiliated milblogger said Russia is modernizing at least 19 facilities in Pechenga and expanding a naval infantry base and armored vehicle and landing-craft fleet near Baltiysk, Kaliningrad Oblast. Russia is still trying to manufacture battlefield success The Russian Ministry of Defense posted footage on June 11 that it said showed elements of the 126th Motorized Rifle Regiment seizing Okhrimivka northeast of Kharkiv City. A local Kharkiv Oblast Telegram channel pointed out that the same footage had already been used the day before in a claim that Russian forces were striking Ukrainian positions near Ruska Lozova, showing how the Kremlin continues to recycle imagery for false advance claims. ISW said Russia’s cognitive warfare effort has become more sophisticated in recent months, with higher-production montages and AI-generated footage used to portray gains that are not supported by available evidence. The goal appears to be to make the frontline look like it is collapsing across the theater, even where Russian forces do not hold enduring positions. Fighting continues across the front Russian forces continued offensive operations north to southeast of Sumy City and in northern Kharkiv Oblast on June 10 and 11 but did not advance. In the Kupyansk direction, geolocated footage showed Russian servicemembers in northeastern Kupyansk during what ISW assessed as an infiltration mission. Ukrainian forces also kept striking Russian assets in occupied Luhansk Oblast, targeting logistical hubs, trucks with personnel, and fuel and ammunition near Starobilsk, Aydar, Novoaydar, Shchastya, and Rubizhne. In the Slovyansk direction, Russian forces continued offensive operations but did not advance, while Ukrainian forces counterattacked northwest and northeast of Lyman. Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces Commander Major Robert “Magyar” Brovdi said Ukrainian forces struck a vehicle carrying the commander and chief of staff of the Russian 1st Motorized Rifle Battalion near Siversk. Other reporting also indicated Russian infantry and command elements were under pressure in the broader Donetsk direction as the fighting remained active on multiple axes. Ukraine’s sustained strikes on bridges, fuel routes, oil infrastructure, and military targets are creating a growing logistics problem for Russia in the south. At the same time, Russia is still trying to rebuild force posture along NATO’s border, suggesting that Moscow is preparing for a broader long-term confrontation even while its combat power remains tied up in Ukraine. Read more at: understandingwar.org

Ukraine’s Bridge Strikes Cut Deeper, Russia’s Crimea Supply Routes Feel the Pressure