Russian-installed official Yevgeny Balitsky told President Vladimir Putin that the R-280 Novorossiya highway, which connects Rostov region to annexed Crimea, is 'today under full control.' Balitsky said anti-drone defenses are constantly being improved and that Russian forces are using 'new methods' to counter drones. He did not specify what 'full control' entails.
Ukrainian drones have been regularly attacking the road since late May. The highway is used to supply Russian troops and deliver fuel to Crimea, where strikes have caused a gasoline shortage and led to restrictions on fuel sales. On June 6, the occupation administration of Luhansk region restricted passenger transport on the R-280 and R-150 highways, urging residents not to use roads leading toward occupied territories and Crimea.
However, a source in Simferopol told The Insider that buses began running on the Novorossiya route again around the time the queue to cross the Crimean Bridge exceeded 1,000 vehicles.
Military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko, speaking to Novaya Gazeta Europe, cited data from Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) saying that the intensity of strikes on the highway had not decreased over the previous five days. According to him, drones destroy at least 400 pieces of equipment daily on roads to Crimea. On July 19, 605 trucks and vehicles were hit. Kovalenko added that in occupied parts of Kherson region, the attacks have caused shortages of fuel, ammunition, supplies, food, medicine and water for Russian forces. A similar situation is developing in Zaporizhzhia region.
The pro-war Telegram channel 'Two Majors' also cast doubt on Balitsky's claims. 'We look forward to when Balitsky personally delivers fuel along the entire land corridor to Crimea at the head of a column of fuel tankers,' it wrote.
In the first week of July alone, according to the outlet Krymsky Veter, Ukrainian forces attacked 240 Russian trucks along the highway in occupied territories — an average of 34 vehicles per day. In June, 20 trucks per day were targeted, with about 600 vehicles hit over the month, including 80 fuel tankers.