Crimea Goes PITCH BLACK… GET READY... Something BIG Is About to Happen

The Military Show

Ukraine is intensifying its campaign against Russian military infrastructure in occupied Crimea, with Kerch facing widespread power outages after reported drone strikes on energy facilities. This video examines the reported attacks, their impact on logistics, fuel supplies, and morale, and why Kerch has become a key strategic target. We also explore how these developments fit into Ukraine's broader strategy to isolate Crimea and increase the costs of Russia's occupation. Subscribe to The Military Show for more Ukraine war analysis.  ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Ukraine Drone Strikes Cause Total Crimea Blackouts 04:53 - Ukraine Grid Strategy Hits Simferopol Power Plant 05:51 - Sevastopol Drone Strike Cuts 50% of Crimea Power 09:48 - Kerch Bridge Stays Open for Russian Evacuation 12:26 - Putin Faces Crisis with 50,000 Soldiers in Crimea 14:32 - Did Ukraine Destroy 147 Russian Shadow Fleet Tankers?  Support us directly as we bring you independent, up-to-date reporting on military news and global conflicts by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMilitaryShow/join  #militarystrategy #militarydevelopments #militaryanalysis #themilitaryshow  SOURCES: https://pastebin.com/0v1CyrGB

Transcript

00:00The Crimean chaos continues. As massive fireballs engulf the Kerch Strait, Russia realized that

00:07Ukraine was taking aim at Crimea's power facilities. Russia may have realized, but it

00:13could do nothing about it. Occupiers have been plunged into darkness as Kerch goes pitch black.

00:19Frankly, those occupiers are getting used to this. Darkness, fuel shortages, and a constant

00:25message sent by Ukraine that the only route out of Crimea as a target have become the norm.

00:30As Putin can do nothing to protect the peninsula that is supposed to be Russia's stronghold.

00:35Get out now is the message that Ukraine is sending to the Russians in Crimea.

00:39Something big is coming, and you don't want to be living your illegal life in Crimea when it arrives.

00:44As gunfire and explosions rocked the occupied region of Kerch, Russian authorities started to panic.

00:51And they should. After days of attacking shipping in the Sea of Azov, and those strikes haven't

00:56stopped, Ukraine took aim at power facilities in one region that can serve as an escape route

01:01for the hundreds of thousands of Russian occupiers who have made Crimea their home.

01:06The Kiev Post has the basic details in a July 15th report where it says that total blackouts

01:12were reported all across Kerch on the day of its report. That isn't based on Ukraine trumpeting

01:17its results either. The puppet head of the Kerch administration, Ivan Koschel, was the bearer

01:22of bad news for his people as he reported, Unfortunately, as a result of the enemy drone

01:27attack, Kerch is completely without power. Life support systems are operating on backup

01:32power sources. All city services are involved in emergency recovery operations.

01:38Completely without power. If there's one thing the great protector Putin was supposed to be able to

01:43do it was to prevent Ukraine from ever inflicting something like this on the Russians who he told to

01:48move to Crimea. The Crimean Wind Telegram channel documented the panicked Russian response to

01:54Ukraine's attack. It said that subscribers to the channel who were on the ground in Kerch reported that

01:59loud blasts could be heard rocking this key region of the peninsula. Russia, having spent months getting

02:05its more advanced air defense systems blasted by Ukrainian drones, seemed to be able to do little

02:10more than deploy mobile fire groups in a hit and hope strategy that failed to stop the attacks on

02:16Kerch's power facilities. Amidst it all, Russia also tried to stop a propaganda nightmare from unfolding.

02:22The same telegram channel says that Russia halted all traffic across the Kerch Bridge.

02:27Why? Did Russia fear that Ukraine would finally take out the Kerch Bridge? Or did Putin want to make

02:33sure that no Crimean occupiers could get out and into mainland Russia to tell others what's really

02:38happening on a peninsula that is supposed to be a Russian fortress? Whatever Russia was trying to do,

02:43none of it helped. In addition to Kerch, power outages were reported in several settlements in

02:48Crimea's northwestern and eastern districts, the New Voice of Ukraine reports. Repair crews were already

02:54on site, the outlet says, though it's impossible to determine when they'll be able to get their power

02:59flowing again. And even if they do, Ukraine always has more drones on hand to take out repaired

03:05substations and other infrastructure. And as if all of this wasn't bad enough for the Kerch occupiers,

03:10the Russian-controlled water company that services the Crimean peninsula, Voda Kryma,

03:15reported that the water pressure had been reduced in nine districts, all as a result of the emergency

03:21affecting Kerch's power grid. No electricity, no water, no fuel, no hope. That's what Ukraine has

03:28transformed life into for many occupiers who bought into Putin's claims that Crimea would become a luxury

03:34destination that could never fall out of Russian control. And through it all, Ukraine hasn't

03:39attacked civilians directly. It just sends the message, over and over, we will make your life

03:45hell until you figure out that it's time to leave Crimea forever. Of course, anybody who gets their

03:50Ukraine war updates from Russia's defense ministry wouldn't have a clue about any of this. As the puppet

03:55regime in Crimea panicked so much that it actually delivered some semblance of truth to its people,

04:00the Russian defense ministry did what it always does, ignore Ukraine's success and act as though

04:05Russia's air defenses are doing their jobs. The ministry claimed that Russian air defenses shot down

04:1093 Ukrainian drones on the night when Ukraine crippled Kerch's power supply. The downing of drones

04:16was reported over Crimea, as well as both the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, and several Russian border

04:22regions including Kursk, Bryansk, Rostov, and Belgorod. Head meets Sand. Russia claims a successful

04:30defense as Ukraine's drones cause chaos in Crimea. The defense ministry may not have wanted to mention

04:36the inconvenient truth of blackouts rolling all over one of the most important regions in Crimea,

04:41but those living there didn't need the ministry to tell the truth. They need Russia to stop what is

04:46happening all over Crimea right now, especially when it comes to Ukraine's targeting of power

04:51facilities. You see, what just happened in Kerch isn't a one-off. There's a bigger picture at play

04:56here. Ukraine has been targeting the Crimean energy grid for weeks, with the full campaign kicking off

05:02in late June and early July at the Kyiv Post reports. Ukraine has followed the same blueprint that

05:07it has in place for taking out Russian oil refineries. It strikes once, then follows up a short while later,

05:13and then Ukraine repeats the strikes, rendering repair work moot. We saw that at the Simferopol

05:19combined cycle-thermal power plant, where Ukraine's strike drones hit their marks in three separate

05:24air raids conducted between June 20th and June 25th. Those attacks kicked off a wave of strikes,

05:31most of which target power stations that are nodes in a massive network that keeps electricity flowing

05:36to the residents of Crimea. Strikes on the energy grid, along with rolling blackouts all over Crimea,

05:41have simply become a feature of life for the occupiers who were told that they were moving

05:46to the Russian equivalent of the Riviera after Putin's illegal 2014 takeover. Even July 15th brought

05:53with it more pain. As Kerch grappled with darkness, Ukraine's drones also attacked the Balaklava

05:59thermal power station in Sevastopol, which is another repeat target. Ukraine's Special Operations

06:05forces report that it had help from a resistance movement on the ground for this operation,

06:09which took out the plant's machine haul and likely damaged the cooling system used by one of the

06:14Siemens SGT-5-2000E turbines in that machine haul. Siemens is a German company. Germany is one of many

06:22nations that have imposed sanctions on Russia. If a piece of equipment Siemens made that keeps the

06:27power flowing in Crimea is destroyed, Russia is going to have a very difficult time sourcing the parts it

06:32needs for repairs. The SOF says as much, claiming that this single strike, which impacted a plant that

06:39the Kyiv Independent reports supplies as much as 50% of the electricity used in Crimea, has caused

06:44enough damage to require between two and five months of repair work. And that's the point. Strike precisely,

06:51and Russia ends up with major problems on its hands. These strikes have been having the exact effect that

06:56Ukraine intends. In the wake of the Simferopol plant strikes, Crimea's puppet government was forced to

07:02declare a state of emergency in Sevastopol. Don't underestimate how important this is on both the

07:07morale and propaganda fronts. Crimea is supposed to be Russia's fortress, the crown jewel that

07:13represents Russian dominance over Ukraine, and if Putin had his way, the first step on the road to

07:18complete annexation of Ukraine's territory. Through Crimea, the entire Russian invasion into Ukraine's

07:23east and south was meant to flow, and it did for a while. But now there is panic on the

07:29peninsula as the

07:30power goes out, fuel runs short, and Ukraine's drones just keep on coming. Ukraine can crow about the

07:36strikes, but the real damage is being done to Putin and his self-made image as the protector of the

07:41Russian people. It's not just Kerch and Sevastopol that are dealing with blackouts and panicked puppet

07:46governors either. On July 13th, UKR Inform revealed that blackouts in the Zhankoy district of Crimea

07:52have been ongoing for an entire week up till that point. Ukraine's strategy isn't just hurting Russian

07:58occupiers. As the chairman of the Majlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Refat Chubarov explains,

08:04those who support Ukraine's cause are also being impacted. However, Chubarov said that this is a

08:09hardship that must be endured, as the ultimate goal is to liberate Crimea so that life will become

08:15better for all those who have lived under Russian oppression since 2014. We sincerely sympathize with all

08:21the residents of Crimea who are awaiting the liberation of the peninsula from the Russian

08:25barbarians and are forced to endure new hardships caused by the Russian occupation. We thank them

08:31for not losing hope and remaining loyal to Ukraine despite all the difficulties and repression,

08:36Chubarov said in a message designed to encourage those who support Ukraine to hold the fort. You can

08:41get through this, and there is an ever-widening light at the end of the tunnel. In the meantime,

08:46the Kerch strikes that have led to yet more blackouts are all designed to undermine Russia. The

08:51controlling power in Crimea has lost its control. As the SOF puts it, striking power generation

08:57facilities on the Crimean bridgehead significantly undermines the Russian Federation's army's

09:02offensive and defensive capabilities, reduces its operational tempo and the resilience of its

09:08logistical support. So as the occupiers fear for their futures in the dark, soldiers on the front

09:14lines in mainland Ukraine are being forced into assaults despite not having the support they need.

09:19That support won't come. The supplies and soldiers are locked in Crimea and they are disappearing by

09:25the day. That's a real problem for Putin. But behind that problem lies another issue. We touched

09:31on it earlier. The location of Ukraine's latest power cutting strikes is very important. But before

09:37we explain why, this is a reminder that you're watching the military show. If you're getting insight

09:42from the channel, hit subscribe and enable notifications so you see what we have coming next.

09:48Kerch isn't just any old region in Crimea. It's one of the single most important regions on the

09:52peninsula for the simple fact that Kerch, and the bridge that connects Kerch to the Russian mainland,

09:57is the only route that most of the occupiers have in or out of the peninsula. Every time that Ukraine

10:03launches an attack in Kerch, no matter what is targeted, the nation sends the message that the only

10:08bridge out could be a target whenever Ukraine chooses. It has been before, of course. But now,

10:14Ukraine has the firepower, and Russia's defenses are so poor that isolated strikes against the bridge

10:20would evolve into a campaign that takes the bridge out forever. If that happens,

10:24the occupiers will be trapped in the hell that their leader's failure has created.

10:28Ukraine is being very purposeful with attacking everything in Kerch except the Kerch bridge.

10:33The commander of the unmanned systems forces, Robert Brovdy, made that very clear on July 14th,

10:38just ahead of the attacks that plunged the illegal residents of Kerch into darkness.

10:43There's no fuel in Crimea, and I want to tell you there won't be any, Brovdy exclaimed, adding.

10:49We're cutting off the access routes, not the exit routes. We're not touching the Kerch bridge.

10:54Let them go through it. Let those millions leave through that little bridge back to their Russia,

10:58and travel somewhere far beyond the Urals to live in peace.

11:02Brovdy and Ukraine know exactly what they're doing here. The warning is one thing. The occupiers in

11:08Crimea would do well to heed it. But what Ukraine really wants to create here is the sight of thousands

11:13upon thousands of occupiers desperately attempting to escape via the Kerch bridge. We talked about

11:19propaganda victories before. This would be a big one. Nothing would damage Putin's casting of himself

11:25as the strongman protector of Russia more than his own people running for their lives from Crimea.

11:29And don't forget those people have to go somewhere. They would become refugees in a war that was never

11:35meant to touch Russia. More damage to Putin's reputation would result. And those running away

11:40from Crimea would have all the stories to tell of non-stop drone attacks, fuel shortages, power cuts,

11:46and the utter failure of Russia's defenses to protect them. And if that can happen to them,

11:51it can happen anywhere in Russia, will be the message they bring. It's pressure on Putin. The war

11:57is being brought home to Russia. Ukraine is keeping up the pressure. On July 17th,

12:02the Kyiv Post reported that Ukraine has scored another successful strike in Kerch,

12:06this time against a rail hub in the region that is part of Russia's Crimean logistical network.

12:11That strike caused a fire at the rail hub, which is located close to the Kerch bridge. Again,

12:17the message is sent. The fires are creeping closer. So are the strikes. Get out now or the bridge itself

12:23will become a tug. None of this is going to stop. Some may question the morality of what Ukraine is

12:28doing. But it's worth repeating that Ukraine isn't striking civilians directly. That's a move out of

12:33Putin's playbook, not Ukraine's. Rather, Ukraine is exposing the fact that Putin's selling of Crimea

12:39as a luxury destination to the Russian people is an attempt to hide the fact that Russia has turned

12:44Crimea into a massive military base used to attack Ukraine. Nothing more than a veneer of legitimacy

12:50wiped over another tool of aggression. Ukraine's now former defense minister Mikhailo Fedorov makes

12:56that point, noting, Crimea has essentially turned into a military base for the Russians,

13:01allowing them to continue occupying the south of our country and transfer forces to the east.

13:06This is vital to understand when considering why Ukraine is targeting Crimea as it is right now.

13:12The peninsula isn't some innocent territory that is being subjected to fuel shortages and rolling

13:17blackouts. Sure, hundreds of thousands of Russian occupiers are feeling the pain,

13:21but never forget that Crimea was used as a launching pad for the initial invasion of Ukraine.

13:26Russia is still trying to use it as a logistical node to feed supplies into the Ukrainian mainland and

13:31there are estimated to be around 50,000 soldiers on the peninsula. There is nothing innocent about

13:36Russia's occupation of Crimea. Ukraine has exposed that fact and it's going to keep pushing the

13:42advantage that it's carved out for itself. What we have just seen in Kerch is part of a much wider

13:46campaign and Ukraine is making it clear that something big is coming for Crimea that Russia

13:51can't handle. You can argue that something big has already arrived. Al Jazeera reports that the fruits

13:57of Ukraine's multi-month labor to isolate Crimea have already grown. Ukraine essentially has fire

14:03control over the peninsula, the outlet says, which allows Ukraine to plunge Crimea deeper and deeper into

14:09the power and fuel crises that are already there. The puppet authorities can't do anything about it.

14:14Even as Putin tries, and often fails, to send help from Moscow, those authorities can't even

14:20guess at a schedule for a return to normality. What Crimea has now is the new normal. And beyond

14:26attacks on Crimea itself, Ukraine is exacerbating the issues that it has created by striking ships in

14:32the waters around Crimea. The shadow fleet that keeps Crimea alive is sinking. By July 13,

14:38the non-stop wave of daily attacks against shadow fleet oil tankers, supply ships, and ferries that

14:44Russia is using to transport supplies had resulted in movement through the Kerch Strait practically

14:48stopping, claims Brovdy. By July 16, Ukraine had struck 147 tankers in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea,

14:56117 of which were feeder tankers that deliver fuel to Crimea. Those attacks add to a logistical

15:02lockdown campaign on the Ukrainian mainland against the roads, bridges, and trucks that bring supplies

15:08and fuel into Crimea via overland routes. The fuel has run dry at gas stations and the blackouts are

15:13getting longer and covering more of Crimea than ever before. And all of this leaves Putin with a

15:19two-fold problem. First, the Crimean stronghold has become one of Russia's biggest vulnerabilities.

15:26The power cuts in Kerch are just a symptom of a disease that is withering Crimea.

15:30Mass militarization and economic integration with the Russian mainland gave the false impression that

15:35Crimea was invulnerable. But now it's a money pit for Russia. All that Putin can do is keep trying to

15:41send fuels, soldiers, and equipment into the peninsula. Once those supplies arrive, if they arrive at all,

15:46they're isolated. Ukraine hits them. Russia spends more money sending supplies over. Ukraine hits them

15:52again. Billions are being poured into Crimea, and it's still the single most vulnerable occupied region of Ukraine.

15:58A war that started with Crimea is going to end with the peninsula. And for Putin, the second of his

16:04problems

16:04lies with his credibility. We've touched on this already. Putin is supposed to be the great protector.

16:10Since 2014, he has told Russians that they own Crimea and that Ukraine can do nothing about it. He has

16:16been

16:16proven a liar by everything we're seeing now in Kerch and elsewhere in and around the peninsula.

16:22As Jason Corcoran put it in a July 16th opinion piece for the Moscow Times,

16:26Ukraine appears to have recognized something that the West initially missed.

16:30It doesn't necessarily have to liberate Crimea tomorrow to weaken Putin. If it can steadily increase

16:36the military and economic cost of holding the peninsula while destroying its appeal as Russia's

16:40showcase resort, Crimea ceases to be an asset and becomes a liability. Every fuel shortage,

16:46cancelled holiday and damaged depot chips away at the image Putin sold to Russians in 2014.

16:52And that's the whole point. The occupiers who can do nothing but watch as the blackouts roll over

16:57and the pumps run dry have been sold a fake bill of goods. They now see through the lies that

17:03Putin

17:03told them. Even if they wouldn't ever admit it publicly for fear of retaliation, but it can't be

17:08denied. Crimea was supposed to be the jewel in Putin's crown. It's now become a noose around the Russian

17:13leader's neck and he can't yank that noose off without revealing Russia's true weakness. As for

17:18Kerch, the power is out and the strikes keep coming, but the bridge still stands for as long

17:24as Ukraine allows it. How long Ukraine will give the occupiers their escape route is now the big

17:29question. Putin's symbolism only holds so much power. Blocking the Kerch bridge, as Russia did in

17:35the wake of the Kerch strikes, will only create more anger. Chaos is upon Crimea and that chaos

17:41is key to liberation. We've covered one strike and provided analysis on Ukraine's strategy in this

17:46video. But to get a true taste of what the occupiers in Crimea are dealing with, you need more. A

17:51lot

17:51more. And we have it in this compilation video, where we expose the true scale of Putin's Crimean

17:57catastrophe. Watch that video today to see how Crimea is crumbling and then subscribe to the military

18:02show so you don't miss any of our daily coverage of the latest developments in the Ukraine war.

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