Kyiv: water is the only leverage Ukraine has to retake control of Crimea
Permanent representative of the Ukrainian President for Crimea Anton Korinevich said that water resources is the only leverage that Ukraine has which will allow it to retake control of Crimea. He believes that this opportunity should not be discounted, and the President's team is not going to do it, reports RBC-Ukraine.
In his opinion, it is the water crisis in Crimea that will allow Kyiv to accelerate the “de-occupation of the peninsula”.
According to Korinevich, Ukraine closely monitors the situation with water in Crimea and understands that the Kremlin is unable to solve this problem.
This summer the Russian authorities had to introduce time schedule for water supply for Crimean residents and ration the water intake to 18 liters per person a day.
The Crimean authorities sounded the alarm after the residents started to drain water for domestic purposes from central heating water pipes.
Ukraine used to provide up to 85% of Crimea's fresh water through the North-Crimean Canal, which connects the Dnieper River with the peninsula. After Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, water supplies to the peninsula were cut off.
Water reserves in Crimea are replenished from reservoirs of natural runoff and underground sources. According to ecologists, the excessive use of water from natural sources has led to the salinization of the soil on the peninsula. Crimean authorities regularly call on the residents of the peninsula to save water.
The Permanent Mission of the President of Ukraine in Crimea reported that the supply of water to Russia-annexed Crimea and Sevastopol via the North Crimean Canal is possible only after the “de-occupation of the peninsula”.