Crimea says it won't take Ukrainian electricity, even if Kiev restores the supply

Crimea's state authorities say they will refuse to accept electricity from Ukraine, in the event that Kiev is able to repair and reconnect the power grid that used to supply the peninsula. According to the news agency Kryminform, Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov vowed not to receive more energy from Ukraine, accusing Ukrainian officials in the Kherson oblast of conspiring with the organizers of a "blockade" that has cut off deliveries of food and electricity into Crimea.

"Electric power was the last 'thread' that connected us to Ukraine. Today, we're cut off completely, and we have no plans to resume the relationship," the prime minister said.

According to Aksyonov, the people of Crimea have themselves demanded that the peninsula end its consumption of Ukrainian electricity permanently. "I've received a great number of appeals on social media from Crimeans of a single mind that—even if Ukraine wants to restore its energy supply—we wouldn't take it, no matter the price, however high or low," Aksyonov said.

Crimea's prime minister says the peninsula is developing supply routes from the Russian mainland, and is also working to produce its own power, building power plants in Simferopol and Sevastopol.

After a series of explosions at electrical towers in southern Ukraine, Crimea was left without 70 percent of its required electricity supply. In response to the crisis, officials in Crimea have instituted a series of rolling power and water blackouts.
On September 20, Crimean Tatar activists launched a blockade targeting all food shipments into Crimea, closing the border to freight trucks carrying food. On November 23, the Ukrainian government suspended all freight traffic between Crimea and Ukraine.
On December 2, Russia activated the first line of a power bridge that spans the Kerch Strait, connecting Krasnodar to Crimea. Vladimir Putin attended a ceremony in Simferopol, Crimea, to mark the achievement, promising that the power bridge's second line would come online by December 20.