Power outages and the fuel crisis have led to widespread business closures in occupied Crimea
In occupied Crimea, there is a widespread crisis affecting small and medium-sized businesses, caused by total blackouts, fuel and water shortages, and the absence of tourist traffic. Unable to cover operating costs, business owners are closing hotels, restaurants, stores, and artisanal workshops en masse. The critical situation with energy supplies has forced even the peninsula’s largest industrial facilities to halt operations.
In particular, enterprises such as the “Druzhba Narodov” meat processing plant, the Crimean Soda Plant, and the Belogorsk Greenhouse Complex have announced forced production halts. The occupying administration is withholding official statistics on the number of closed businesses, but entrepreneurs themselves describe the situation as catastrophic. Most companies are operating at a loss or are choosing to completely shut down their operations to prevent further debt accumulation.
The hotel and restaurant sectors have come under the greatest pressure due to the high cost of maintaining generators and the rising prices of basic services. According to hotel owners in Sudak, even after being forced to cut room rates in half, operations remain unprofitable because the costs of fuel for alternative power sources and utilities exceed revenue. In Simferopol and Dzhankoy, restaurant owners are forced to pay full rent for closed premises—which lack electricity and water—to avoid losing the money they invested in renovations.
Energy-intensive artisanal production operations are also suspending their activities. In particular, dried fruit producers in the Bakhchisaray District are abandoning traditional sun-drying methods to comply with hygiene standards and protect their business reputation, leading them to shut down their production facilities entirely. At the same time, the obligation to pay taxes remains in effect, which is draining the financial resources of local entrepreneurs. Due to the lack of internet access and customers, tour guides, real estate agents, and accountants are also left without income.
The only sector seeing a significant influx of customers is auto repair shops. Amid the fuel crisis, the quality of gasoline at Crimean gas stations has deteriorated significantly, leading to widespread engine failures across the peninsula.
Source: Semaat.
The occupying authorities in Crimea have tightened restrictions on fuel sales. Gasoline and diesel fuel on the peninsula will now be sold for only four hours a day—from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Video: Residents of occupied Crimea were buying gasoline, but their purchases were funded by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
