Vladimir Putin once claimed Crimea was as sacred to Russia as the Temple Mount was to Jewish people and Muslims.

With bridges cut and a drone blitz on shipping, Russian-occupied Crimea is reeling from a relentless Ukrainian campaign of targeted drone strikes. Vladimir Putin has said the peninsula he seized in 2014 has a “sacred meaning” – but life there is becoming increasingly intolerable.

Perspective: Crimea was Putin’s trophy. Ukraine is turning it into a test of command, supply lines and political nerve.

Kyiv’s campaign of drone strikes has caused a fuel and electricity crisis in the occupied Black Sea peninsula, triggering a state of emergency.

Numbeo and other global cost of living rankings for 2026 highlight countries and territories with the highest expenses for housing, groceries, and everyday goods. Island nations and financial hubs dominate the list,

Energy shortages have continued to plague Sevastopol, the largest city in Russian-controlled Crimea, following repeated, intensified Ukrainian strikes on the peninsula.

One person was killed in a Ukrainian attack on Russian-occupied Crimea, Moscow-installed officials said in the early hours of Sunday, as Russian and Ukrainian leaders held separate calls with U.S. President Donald Trump on ending the war, now in its fifth year.

Following the petrol shortage that has gripped temporarily occupied Crimea due to Ukrainian strikes on the land corridor and vessels in the Kerch Strait, the peninsula now appears to be facing a shortage of cash roubles as well.