Crimea hit by power blackout and Ukraine trade boycott Published duration 23 November 2015 Related Topics Ukraine conflict

image copyright Reuters image caption Anti-Russian activists were accused of sabotaging four electricity pylons near Crimea

Ukraine has suspended deliveries of goods to Crimea, where a power blackout has caused major disruption.

Only essential services and government offices are operating in Crimea after key electricity pylons connected to the peninsula were knocked down in Ukraine.

Protesters, including Crimean Tatars, are preventing the repair work. Russia has warned of retaliatory measures.

Ukraine is planning new rules for cargo traffic for the southern peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

There has been disruption to road and rail traffic to and from Crimea since Ukrainian nationalists and Crimean Tatars began a border blockade in September.

Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev said the protesters would only let engineers repair two pylons that serve areas of mainland Ukraine - not the two linked to Crimea.

media caption People in Crimea explain how the power blackout has affected them

Russia does not have a land border with Crimea, which gets about 70% of its electricity from Ukraine.

Economic impact

Most of Crimea's two million people have been hit by the power cut. There are also water shortages.

Public transport is still running and hospitals are using generators. But the blackout has shut down many businesses and plunged the streets into darkness.

A state of emergency was imposed on Sunday and Monday was declared a non-working day.

The blackout forced the closure of some 150 schools.

"We are outraged by the cut-off... because a lot of us have electric cookers, we can't wash properly at the moment... our fridges are defrosting," Sevastopol resident Raisa Kazhyrnova told Reuters news agency.

Ukraine's state energy company, Ukrenergo, said the damage to the pylons was caused by "shelling or the use of explosive devices".

image copyright AFP image caption Crimea's capital Simferopol was plunged into darkness

image copyright Reuters image caption A Crimean Tatar flag was tied around a damaged pylon in Kherson

Trade tensions

Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the government "is temporarily banning cargo traffic on the administrative border" between Ukraine and Crimea.

He also warned Ukraine would respond in kind if Russia introduced an embargo on Ukrainian products, as Moscow has threatened to do.

Russia is angry at Ukraine's decision to implement a free trade agreement with the EU on 1 January 2016.

Russia says the deal will undermine its producers, because EU exporters are likely to use Ukraine as a back door into the Russian market.

Russia has blamed Ukrainian nationalists and Crimean Tatar activists for the pylon damage, calling it "an act of terrorism".

Crimean Tatar activists said Russia must release "political prisoners" and let their leaders return to Crimea in exchange for the repair work.

Emergency timetable

Crimean Tatar activists accuse Russia of abusing their rights.

image copyright Reuters image caption An electrical shop in Simferopol is among many businesses temporarily shut down by the emergency

Crimean authorities said they had managed to partially reconnect some cities using generators.

But emergency power-saving measures have been imposed across the peninsula.