A series of Ukrainian strikes on Kerch and air defense systems weakened the defense of one of the most fortified objects in russia and effectively opened the way for new attacks on the Crimean bridge.
June 2026 became a month of unprecedented pressure on the logistics of the occupiers in Crimea - the Defense Forces of Ukaine methodically destroyed everything that provides supplies to the enemy group on the peninsula. As a result, there was a widespread shortage of fuel in the occupied territories, and queues at the crossings stretched for kilometers.
Read more: Ukraine Hits Four Crimean Gas Facilities, Key russian Supply Routes in Large-Scale Drone Operation (Video)
On the night of June 20, Ukrainian forces launched strikes on Russian-controlled Crimea and the Kerch Strait crossing - among the targets were air defense systems, fuel storage facilities and the three vehicle ferries.
This is stated by the UK Ministry of Defence in its latest defence intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine. Kyiv is increasingly intensively striking russian military and logistical networks in the occupied territory of Ukraine.
"The breadth of Ukrainian targeting is also degrading russian air defenses even in well-established priority locations, like the Kerch Strait. This increases Ukraine's options for attacking the Crimean Bridge, a strategic and politically-sensitive target opened by President Putin," the UK Ministry of Defense said.
London believes that the disabling of three ferries at a time when the struggle for the southern land corridor to Crimea is ongoing, has almost certainly deepened the already major supply problems on the peninsula. There are now widespread fuel shortages and delays at crossing points.
Security protocols enacted following the first Ukrainian attack on the Crimean Bridge in October 2022 mean that trucks can only use the ferries and not the bridge. Only cars, buses and some types of rail transport use the bridge. This is why the destruction of the ferries hits the supply chain much harder than any attack on the bridge itself.
The UK intelligence recalled that earlier, in March and April 2026, Ukraine had already struck two other rail ferries that also provide military logistics. These ferries are almost certainly currently under repair. That is, as of today, russia has effectively lost its entire ferry fleet on the Kerch crossing.
Ukraine has been carrying out strikes on Russian military logistics networks in occupied Ukraine with increasing intensity. This has been made possible by the availability of various means, including disposable strike drones and remote-controlled munitions. The constant attacks are simultaneously overloading the russian air defense system – it is degrading even where Moscow considered itself protected.
russia is moving air defense systems from the regions to Moscow and to the Kerch Bridge against the backdrop of Ukrainian attacks. Analysts from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) note that Ukraine's strike operations have forced russia to make "difficult decisions" about the distribution of limited air defense resources.
russian tourists and residents of the peninsula, military and security personnel associated with the Black Sea Fleet, as well as representatives of the occupation authorities are leaving the occupied Crimea.
The intensification of Ukrainian attacks on military and logistical infrastructure is already having a real impact on the situation in the occupied Crimea. As Defense Express reports citing Ukraine’s Navy, disruption of russian logistics in Crimea is part of a long-term operation. We reported earlier, that Ukrainian Special Forces cut russian rail link in Crimea,
Read more: Bridges Hit, Fuel Depots Burning: New Satellite Images Show Impact of Strikes on Occupied Crimea
