Context: False. Zaporizhia occupation governor Yevgeny Balitsky made the claim after meeting Putin on July 20, but it was rebutted from two directions. Russian ultranationalist milbloggers called it 'incorrect,' noting Ukrainian forces regularly strike the M-14 — driving up insurance premiums for fuel deliveries to Crimea — with one conceding traffic had fallen only because of the drone threat, not improved Russian air defense. ISW observed at least four Ukrainian strikes on the M-14 between July 1 and 20 and assessed that Ukraine's intermediate-range interdiction campaign has 'at least partially deprived Russian forces of a significant' ground line of communication connecting Russia to occupied Crimea from the north. Wording is ISW's paraphrase; no verbatim transcript was available.