New Delhi, July 11 -- KYIV - The petrol stations in Sevastopol ran out first. Residents of the Black Sea port that houses Russia's Crimean military command began queueing at stations that could no longer guarantee supply, days after Ukrainian forces struck nine fuel-carrying vessels in a single afternoon. By midweek, electricity blackouts had spread across more than 12 regions of the occupied peninsula.

Ukraine's naval campaign against Crimea's fuel logistics intensified sharply between July 6 and 8, when forces struck 19 vessels - tankers, a cargo ship, and a ferry - in what Ukrainian commanders described as a targeted effort to sever the sea routes that Russia depends on to supply the peninsula. Commander Robert Brovdi, who leads Ukrai...