Ukraine to hinder sale of desalinated water to Crimean residents

Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said Ukraine is aware of Russian plans to desalinate water in Crimea. He threatened to definitely find an international company to participate in this and would prevent the implementation of the project.

The Foreign Minister said this on the air of Ukraine 24 television channel on the night of December 24.

Earlier, the “Crimean chief” Sergei Aksenov said that the contractor is ready in January to begin construction of desalination plants in the region in order to get rid of the water shortage that is causing suffering to the inhabitants of the peninsula.

“There was a statement from the illegal occupation authorities in Crimea that they are attracting a large international company to introduce desalination technologies. We immediately started work and we will definitely find it, and prevent it from implementing this project,” Kuleba commented on the words of Aksenov.

Previously, Ukraine provided up to 85% of Crimea’s freshwater needs through the North Crimean Canal running from the Dnieper. However, after the annexation of the peninsula, the water supply through the canal was completely unilaterally cut off. The water supply problem was solved at the expense of natural reservoirs, which during the last year have become significantly shallower due to the low amount of precipitation and extraction of water from underground sources. Due to water shortages in some regions of Crimea, a household water supply scheme has been introduced.

Yesterday, the Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Aleksey Reznikov said that Ukraine is ready to help Crimea with water only after unemployment or in the event of a humanitarian disaster.