Ukraine has stopped the electricity supply to LPR
Ukrenergo was informed that the decision was made in connection with the lack of payment for electricity supplied and consumed.
National energy company Ukrenergo announced on Facebook that beginning April 25 the electricity supply to the territory of the DPR and LPR has ceased.
It is noted that the actions will be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the state-owned enterprise Energorynok. The decision to stop the supply of electricity was made in connection with the lack of payment for electricity supplied and consumed on the uncontrolled territory.
Later on, the agency Interfax Ukraine reported that the electricity supply had been cut off throughout the Lugansk territory.
It is noted that this was presumably due to the termination of electricity supply from the Ukrainian side.
According to the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), Sergey Ivanushkin, the Republic is fully prepared for emergency situations related to the termination of the supply of electricity from Ukraine.
Later, Elena Bohoduh, Deputy Director of Luhansk Energy Association LLC, reported that after the cessation of electricity supplies to regions controlled by the separatists, Lugansk would receive energy from Russia.
According to Bohoduh, the separatists of the so-called "LPR" have prepared for the shutdown and will receive energy from Russia. At the same time, they will remain 5 billion hryvnia in debt to Luhansk Energy Association LLC for energy supplied in 2014-17.
On Tuesday, the authorized representative of the Russian Federation in the contact Group for the settlement of the situation in the Donbass, Boris Gryzlov, stated that the Russian government has decided to provide the so-called Luhansk People's Republic with uninterrupted electricity supplies.
"In accordance with the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, the government of the Russian Federation has decided to provide electricity [to LPR] in the framework of humanitarian support", said Gryzlov.
According to him, the power outage situation in Luhansk "is among other actions, effectively pushing parts of Donbass from Ukraine".
Gryzlov believes that "for the inhabitants of Donbass in the face of a deliberate economic blockade by Ukraine, there is no possibility to pay for electricity".
The press secretary of Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, said, the decision of Kyiv to cut LPR from the electricity supply is "another step towards Ukraine's rejection of the territories".