In occupied Crimea, residents endure one of the war's toughest summers

This summer has become one of the hardest in decades for occupied Crimea, as the peninsula faces regular Ukrainian strikes, a drop in tourists, rising prices, and frequent outages of electricity, water and fuel. The cooperative Bereg spoke with residents across several Crimean towns, whose names have been changed for their safety.

In Dzhankoi, about 40 kilometers from mainland Ukraine, one family went without power for two weeks in July; now electricity runs only four hours a day at insufficient voltage to power a refrigerator or washing machine. The family bought a 25,000-ruble generator and is still waiting on a promised one-time government payment for prolonged outages. Daycares in the city have closed due to the power situation, and several employers, including the local dairy plant, have shut down.

In Sevastopol, a resident described half-empty supermarket shelves and delivery disruptions after a major online retailer stopped accepting orders from Crimea. Power there is cut daily, sometimes for up to eight hours, complicating remote work.

In a village in the Simferopol district, a family said the husband's workweek was cut from five days to three, reducing household income by a third. They have driven to mainland Russia several times to buy cheaper, better-quality fuel. Supermarket prices there have risen roughly 30 percent.

In a village in northwestern Crimea, a woman caring for 90 cats and 30 dogs she has taken in since 2014 has had to cook food over an open fire during power outages and worries about how she will keep the animals warm this winter.

Despite the hardships, most of those interviewed say they have no plans to relocate, even as conditions continue to worsen and the outlook remains uncertain.