Russian authorities declare state of emergency in Crimea

Russian authorities in Crimea declared a state of emergency on the peninsula on Friday to address economic disruptions, following the suspension of tourism and children’s summer camps and a halt to all fuel sales after Ukrainian attacks.

Russian authorities said the emergency situation would ​facilitate decision-making to ensure the stable operations of all sectors on which the livelihood of the population ​depends.

Sergei Aksyonov, the head of Crimea’s Russian administration, did not provide details on what the measure would mean in practice.

In recent months, Ukraine has been ‌pounding ⁠energy and other targets in Russia to undermine Moscow's military capabilities and its finances while also trying to cut it off from ​Crimea, which ​Russia took over ⁠from Ukraine in 2014.

The drone attacks are worsening fuel shortages, with people ​reporting rising prices and long queues ​at ⁠the filling stations.

Kyiv considers Crimea to be sovereign Ukrainian territory that was illegally occupied and annexed by Russia in 2014. The Ukrainian government does not recognize Russia’s control over the peninsula and has repeatedly stated that Crimea should be returned to Ukraine. Moscow views the peninsula as Russian territory following a disputed 2014 referendum.