Satellite images reveal Crimea’s deepening energy crisis and risk of full-scale humanitarian disaster as Ukrainian strikes hit the peninsula’s power grid

Three months into Ukraine’s campaign to cut off Crimea’s energy supply, the annexed peninsula is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Strikes by Ukraine’s armed forces initially disrupted fuel deliveries to the region; over time, they have increasingly left residents without electricity, water, or communications.

The toll on the power grid is visible from space: we examined satellite imagery of Crimea at night to gauge the scale of the disaster.

By late June, the peninsula’s overall nighttime illumination had already fallen to a fifth of its usual level.

Now, following a strike on the Balaklava thermal power plant — which accounted for up to a third of the peninsula’s power generation — the region faces the prospect of a full-scale energy crisis.

Here’s what else our investigation found. ...