Ukrainian Nationalists Vow to Continue Crimea Blockade
KYIV (Sputnik) — Pylons carrying power lines from Ukraine to Crimea were blown up more than a week ago, plunging the region with a population of some 2 million into darkness.
Ukraine’s Energy and Coal Mining Industry Minister Volodymyr Demchishin said earlier that power supplies to Crimea would not be restored without authorization from what Kyiv refers to as activists supporting the Crimea blockade.
Crimean state-run energy company Krymenergo said on Sunday it was on standby to connect the Black Sea peninsula to Russia’s power grid in the southernmost Krasnodar Territory through an “energy bridge.”
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak warned last week that Moscow could consider cutting off coal deliveries to Ukraine’s electrical facilities in response to Crimea energy blockade.