Moscow urges Kyiv to restore power supply to Crimea
Crimean Tatar activists and members of Ukrainian volunteer battalions that have fought in the east have manned roadblocks into Crimea since September, to put pressure on Russian Federation and its puppet rulers in the region.
The damaged line to Russia-annexed Crimea could be fixed Thursday at the earliest, Ukraine’s energy company Ukrenergo said, without specifying when work on the remaining cables will start.
Street lights were off, a state of emergency declared and a curfew imposed as local government struggled to cope with a power shortage that left key installations and the emergency services relying on back-up generators.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has said he expects the full support of his country’s worldwide partners in refusing to recognize Russia’s occupation of Crimea.
Russian officials said the power supply could be restored in two hours after the trunk lines are repaired.
The reports indicated that pylons in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson has been blown up by pro-Ukrainian activists.
Crimean authorities were reportedly able to partially restore power to the cities of Simferopol, Yalta and Saky using generators on Sunday.
The cables were probably damaged by antitank mines, Kherson Governor Andriy Putilov on Friday.
The Pentagon said it had provided Ukraine with more than 250 million in equipment and training since previous year.
The activists deny they blew up the pylons, which also triggered blackouts in parts of Ukraine’s Kherson.
Moscow and Kyiv appeared to lurch towards a fresh trade war on Monday, as Ukraine suspended supplies of food and other commercial goods to Crimea and a senior minister suggested permanently cutting the peninsular off from electricity supplies.
The Energy Ministry said it was monitoring the energy situation in Crimea around the clock and was organizing supplementary supplies of gasoline and diesel fuel.
Crimea head Aksyonov has urged the residents to “prepare for the worst”, saying the power blackout could well last until late December.
According to US Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley, “Ukrainian troops have gained combat experience since Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014 and Ukraine has asked the United States to provide them advanced training to protect their borders from further incursions by pro-Russians”.
Ukraine may need more Russian coal as it faces some shortages after separatists seized Ukraine’s coal producing districts.
Our correspondent Maria Korenyuk said: “Moscow claims its working hard to speed up the construction of an energy bridge along the bottom of the Kerch Strait to Crimea”.
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