Cut Power And The Crimean Blockade

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For over a week Crimea has been without reliable power supply after explosions damaged pylons and cut off electricity supply from Ukraine.

While the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations maintains that the situation is improving, and that “as of November 29 Crimea does not have localities in which there is no electricity at all,” a state of emergency has been in force in the peninsula since the explosions.

Accusations are rife in the tense climate, with the September ceasefire looking to be in jeopardy. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reports a rise in truce violations.

“Of course, all this was done at the level of the state. We call it state terrorism,” said Deputy Chairman of Crimea’s State Council Remzi Ilyasov, a leading figure among Crimean Tatars.

“A group of Crimean Tatars was the perpetrator of this terrorist act. They were perpetrators, not organizers,” he said.

However, opinion is divided among the Crimean Tatar population. The Tatars have previously initiated a food blockade, preventing the transportation of food products from Ukraine – the peninsula’s main supply route.

Now it looks that plans include broadening the scope of the blockade.

“There are several stages of the blockade. First, we announced the food blockade – and we have successfully done it. Then came the energy blockade – and we have also done it. Next will come the sea blockade,” said Lenur Islyamov, a local Tatar leader, owner of the ATR Crimean TV channel, and former deputy chairman of the Crimean government.

Ukraine’s Minister of Energy Volodymyr Demchyshyn says that some electricity supplies to Crimea are ready to be resumed, but agreement with Crimean Tatar activists first must be reached. Currently, Tatars are conducting protests along the transmission lines and preventing repairs.

The Kremlin has committed $5 billion to build a bridge and railroad from the Russian mainland to the peninsula, as well as power lines bypassing Ukraine. Such projects can take years to complete, and the fate of Crimea’s residents seems in peril with temperature set to fall to -8C by mid-December.

The economic blockade is receiving the backing of the Ukrainian government, with President Petro Poroshenko saying: “Crimea is a territory of Ukraine and we will protect the legitimate interests of Crimean Tatars and all Ukrainians living in the occupied territory.”

In response to these developments, Kremlin has cut coal supplies to Ukraine.

The tenuous ceasefire now looks all but set to crumble, but with the harsh winter approaching it may hold a few months longer.