Pylons carrying electricity into Crimea from Ukraine were blown up on Friday and at least 2 million people are without electricity. The incident has prompted open battles between police and Crimean resistance groups.
The Crimea is without the electric power it receives from nearby Ukraine because the pylons that carry the electricity were blown up on Friday. A pro-Ukrainian group has take responsibility for the explosions, but Crimean authorities have yet to verify those claims.
A Russian senator announced that it was Ukrainian nationalists who destroyed the electricity pylons in Crimea. He called the incident an act of terrorism, according to Reuters. Russia and Ukraine have barely been on speaking terms of late as many in Ukraine had opposed the Russian annexation of Crimea. Crimea is a peninsular located along the Black Sea and the country was forcefully annexed by the Russian military last year. It has been reported that as many as 2 million Crimean’s are without electricity.
The Russian government has announced an official state of emergency in Crimea. Only about 30 percent of the peninsula is being supplied with electricity and most of it comes from local generators. Russian media reports are that the pylons were blown up by Ukrainian nationalists but the Russian government had no official explanation for the downed pylons.
Crimea is dependent upon Ukraine for almost all of its water supply and for about 80 percent of its electricity. The United States has officially placed trade sanctions on Russia in response to the annexation of Crimea. Official reports from authorities on the scene of the explosions confirmed that the pylons and power lines were actually blown up with explosives.
All work related activity in Crimea will be suspended for Monday. A group that calls itself Civil Blockade of Crimea took credit for the destruction and actively prevented Ukrainian authorities from repairing the inflicted damage. A rival activist organization in Crimea, the Tartars, denied having anything to do with the bombings of the pylons.
On Saturday the downed pylons hosted battles between the Tartars and the local paramilitary forces. As of Sunday, however, the Russian media is reporting that the paramilitary forces have surrounded the area and intend to stand guard as repairs are made to get the electricity restored.
