SEVASTOPOL, Russia, Nov. 23 (UPI) — Crimea is in its third day of a blackout Monday after four major power lines from Ukraine were blown up over the weekend.
Saboteurs, presumed to be Ukrainian nationalists angry over Russia’s annexation of the peninsula in 2014, damaged two of the lines Friday and two more, by explosion, Saturday. Despite Russia’s claim of territorial sovereignty, most of Crimea’s electricity still is obtained from Ukraine. Some areas of eastern Ukraine are also without power.
No one has yet taken responsibility for the action, which prompted a state of emergency in Crimea.
Russian news agencies reported 1.8 million people in Crimea are without power. A 10 p.m. curfew was established, and generators are powering essential services. Although officials in Ukraine say some power could be restored with 24 hours if demonstrators refrain from blocking repair workers, Russian leaders in Crimea say it will be a month before the blackout ends.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian emergency services could respond to the situation adequately, adding “emergency situations happen,” but Ilya Kiva of Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said Monday Russian tanks were seen approaching Ukraine.
“We are trying to be prepared. … We know that Russian forces have already gotten tanks ready. About 12 tanks went right up to the contact line, and that is one of the possible ways in which events will develop, so we don’t want them to see the energy blockade as a reason for the deployment, for the movement of Russian forces into Ukraine,” Kiva said in an interview on Ukrainian television.
Ukraine’s Border Guard Service, in response to Kiva’s comments, reported they saw no approach of Russian troops or equipment on the border.
The organization Human Rights in Crimea said Sunday some hospitals on the peninsula could only bring power to emergency and operating rooms. The Crimean government gave the day off to non-government workers Monday, and trolley service in the port city of Sevastopol was largely replaced with buses.
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