Crime is on the rise in Crimea. CEMAAT correspondents report that in the villages of the Leninsky District (historically known as Yedi Quyu), there is an epidemic of thefts. This region in eastern Crimea is one of the poorest on the peninsula. Between one-third and one-half of adult men abuse alcohol, and petty crime is a common occurrence here. However, thieves have now developed a new specialty. They are breaking into neighbors’ garages and sheds en masse, because that is where people keep what is currently the most valuable commodity for quick resale: gas cans. As we’ve already reported, prices for gas cans have skyrocketed in Crimea, so a single heist can provide a week’s supply of vodka — even if the can is empty. However, even those without cars are now stockpiling gasoline. Residents of the peninsula are preparing for the toughest times ahead — like Rustem, a resident of Stary Krym.

“I’ve stockpiled 300 liters of gasoline. I spent over $1,000 on it. When there’s a shortage of food or medicine, gasoline can be traded for food or essential medications.”

Fewer and fewer Crimeans are counting on Moscow for protection or assistance. But people are afraid to speak out, knowing that the punishment for doing so will be severe. A CEMAAT interviewee, Inga from Stary Krym, says: Russia couldn’t care less about the suffering of the peninsula’s residents; instead, it has a long history of repression, and no one wants to become a victim of it.

“The Bolsheviks first killed a third of the Crimean Tatars through the artificial famine of 1921 to break resistance to the Red Terror. Then they deported the entire crimeantatar population, and punished individuals simply for having survived the German and Romanian occupations. Do you think anything has changed? If you don’t like the shelling or the shortages, they’ll deport you to the endless Russian expanses, all the way to Siberia. They don’t even need Crimea as a summer retreat; they’ll destroy everything, along with the people, for the sake of ‘greatness’.”

Stary Krym was a place of relative prosperity until the very end. The power was hardly ever cut off here. However, on July 3, Ukrainian drones destroyed a key 110 kV power substation. This information is available in Ukrainian sources, but there’s no mention of it in Russian ones. Residents confirm the fire at the power substation and report that the city has been without electricity or mobile internet for two days now. Overall, according to SBS Commander Robert Brovdi (Madyar), nine power substations have been blown up in Crimea so far.