A series of drone strikes targeted military and energy infrastructure across the Crimean peninsula early Sunday morning, July 26, triggering fires and widespread power outages, according to local monitoring channels and Russian-installed authorities.
The Telegram monitoring channel Crimean Wind reported multiple explosions and drone sightings across several regions.
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In Feodosia, drones reportedly targeted a radar station situated on Tepe-Oba mountain. A subsequent strike hit a local electrical substation, causing a blackout in the city.
In the Simferopol district, residents reported the sound of drones followed by bright flashes and explosions near the Tavriya Thermal Power Plant (TPP).
The strikes resulted in a fire near the facility and disrupted electricity supplies in Simferopol and the nearby Dobrovska valley.
Drone activity was also recorded on the southern coast near Alushta and Gaspra, where Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense systems were reportedly active.
Krymenergo, the Russian-installed energy operator in Crimea, confirmed on Sunday morning that multiple settlements lost power due to “external influence on power supply facilities.”
The operator reported a “complex situation” regarding electricity distribution across the northwestern, eastern, and southern parts of the peninsula.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 133 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over Russian territory, the Black Sea, and Crimea between 8:00 p.m. local time Saturday and 8:00 a.m. Sunday.
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Ongoing energy crisis in Crimea
The overnight barrage exacerbates an ongoing energy crisis in Crimea, which has faced consecutive strikes on its power grid throughout July.
On July 21, strikes targeted the Zorya, Morske, and Gaspra electrical substations, cutting power to multiple coastal resort towns. The Zorya substation, a critical node that distributes electricity across the southern coast, had previously sustained damage in a separate strike on July 19.
Prolonged power and water outages have affected numerous cities in recent weeks, including Simferopol, Sevastopol, Kerch, Feodosia, and Yalta. The blackouts have prompted the Russian-installed operational headquarters to install public landline telephones in several cities to ensure residents can contact emergency services during mobile network disruptions.
Russian-appointed Crimean Governor Sergei Aksyonov has previously acknowledged that local authorities can no longer provide reliable rolling blackout schedules, while local administrations have begun distributing generators to communities left without electricity for extended periods.
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