State of emergency declared in Crimea after electricity pylons blown up
Date
11/22/2015 3:40:07 AM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Almost two million people lost their power supply
MOSCOW: A state of emergency has beendeclared in Crimea after pylons carrying electricity fromUkraine were blown up cutting off power to almost two millionpeople media and the Russian government said on Sunday.
The Russian Energy Ministry didn't say what had caused theoutages but Russian media reported that two pylons in theKherson region of Ukraine north of Crimea had been blown up byUkrainian nationalists.
The attack if by Ukrainian nationalists opposed to Russia'sannexation of Crimea from Ukraine last year is likely tofurther increase tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia's Energy Ministry said in a statement that two powerlines bringing power from Ukraine to Crimea had been affectedas a result of which 1896000 people had been left withoutpower.
The ministry said that a state of emergency had beendeclared in Crimea. It also said that emergency supplies hadbeen turned on for critical needs and 13 mobile gas turbine
generators were being prepared.
Ilya Kiva a senior officer in the Ukrainian police who wasat the scene also said on his Facebook page that the pylons hadbeen blown up without giving further details.
On Saturday the pylons were the scene of violent clashesbetween activists from the Right Sector nationalist movement andparamilitary police Ukrainian media reported.
The pylons had already been damaged by the activists onFriday before they were blown up on Saturday night according tothese reports.
Reuters