{"id":98812,"date":"2020-02-14T19:37:58","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T19:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=74909"},"modified":"2020-02-17T13:37:35","modified_gmt":"2020-02-17T11:37:35","slug":"74909-crimea-water-supply","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply","title":{"rendered":"Crimea: water supply becoming a tool for political pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><i><span lang=\"EN-US\">This week Crimea\u2019s water supplies are actively discussed in Ukraine. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, water supply to the peninsula through the North Crimean Canal became not just an economic but also a political issue. On February 11, 2020 the head of the faction \u201cServant of the People\u201d (\u201cSluha Narodu\u201d) Davyd Arakhamia made a controversial statement supposing that Ukraine might restore channeling water supplies to Crimea. His statement stirred the public discourse causing a strong reaction, the MP later apologized. What the actual state of play of the water supply to Crimea is and which are the possible future scenarios, read on in UCMC\u2019s material.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Current water supplies in Crimea are intermittent. Water reservoirs in the peninsula are lacking resources to be able to provide uninterrupted water supply. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">It is planned to supply hot water in the cities on the weekends only, cold water will be supplied during some hours. Russian media <\/span><span lang=\"RU\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ua.krymr.com\/a\/news-voda-simferopol-krym-bez-vody\/30418444.html\">claim<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">that Simferopol will have run short of water by May. Key water reservoirs in the region are one-third full, the supplies are enough to cover the needs by June.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Russia-controlled \u201cstate\u201d committee on water management and amelioration in Crimea forecasts an emergency by mid-summer. Russian de-facto authorities expect interrupted water supplies. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"RU\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ua.krymr.com\/a\/slushaj-syuda-voda-krym\/30036637.html\">According to the deputy director<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><em><span lang=\"EN-US\">at the Institute of water problems and amelioration of Ukraine Mykhailo Yatsyuk, over 60 per cent of the peninsula\u2019s territory is experiencing \u201cextreme water deficit\u201d, while large irrigated agricultural lands are to turn into a desert.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">Crimea\u2019s troubled water supply <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ql-align-center\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Water<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">turned into<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">peninsula<\/span><span lang=\"UK\">\u2019<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">s<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">main<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">deficit<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">after<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">the<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">annexation<\/span><span lang=\"UK\">.<\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">Before 2014 the water from the Dnipro used to cover up to 85-90 per cent of the region\u2019s demand. A month after the Russian invasion, Ukraine stopped supplying water through the North Crimean Canal protesting against the illegal annexation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Russian de-facto authorities have been installing water intake structures and drilling wells but they never succeeded to resolve the issue. On the contrary, it resulted in soil salinization in Northern Crimea worsening the land\u2019s agricultural potential.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Other projects implying desalination of sea water, sewage treatment, construction of a subsea pipeline that would transport water from Russia through the Black Sea or supplying water over the bridge through the Kerch Strait never came to fruition. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">If tourists can be brought by plane, electric power can be supplied from Russia\u2019s Krasnodarskyi Krai, water can be only supplied from mainland Ukraine. Only Kyiv can take this burden off the Kremlin\u2019s shoulders. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">The issue is now daunting as autumn and winter 2019-2020 have been scarce of rain and snow fall. It\u2019s not about potable water that should be enough, but about technical water that is used, for example, in agriculture or for military purposes.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">What do occupational authorities in Crimea and central Russian authorities say?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Occupational authorities in Crimea admit that the problem is real. Head of the occupational government in Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said that search for additional water resources remains is a top priority. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">He added that Crimea will get RUB 20 billion (about EUR 296 million) to reconstruct the Mizhhirske water reservoir, it will allow to get enough water to supply to Simferopol. Some deputies in the Russian-controlled Crimean Parliament do not rule out the possibility of buying water from mainland Ukraine. \u201cRussia is helping Ukraine with gas but why is it not demanding from international organizations that it keeps supplying us water?\u201d asked Valeriy Aksyonov, deputy of the \u201cCrimean Parliament\u201d.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Press secretary of the Russian President Dmitriy Peskov commenting on the prospects of granting Kyiv control over the state border in Donbas in exchange for Ukraine restoring water supply to Crimea, said that \u201cCrimea cannot be subject to bargain.\u201d He though added that suggestions on water supply can be considered. \u201cIf there are suggestions on additional water supply, commercial or based on other agreements, they can be considered.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">What do Ukrainian MPs and politicians say?<\/span><\/b><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><span lang=\"EN-US\">Ukraine\u2019s position in the past years has been adamant \u2013 supplying water in the occupied peninsula is unacceptable. At the same time in the past weeks pro-Russian politicians and several members of the \u201cServant of the People\u201d party suggested reconsidering the decision. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">Davyd Arakhamia, <\/span><\/b><\/em><em><span lang=\"EN-US\">Head of the \u201cServant of the People\u201d faction in the Parliament. \u201cIf we supply water in Crimea and have a big advantage in negotiations on Donbas, my personal position is, I will consider it a fair compromise,\u201d Arakhamia said on February 11. After his phrase went viral and caused a massive negative reaction, he apologized. \u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">MPs from the major party. <\/span><\/b><span lang=\"EN-US\">Even before Davyd Arakhamia\u2019s statement, in early February Yuriy Aristov, MP from the \u201cServant of the People\u201d faction, head of the budget committee <\/span><span lang=\"RU\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=728786974315596\">said<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">that Ukraine is considering the prospects of selling water to Crimea. \u201cIsraelis are selling water to the country that\u2019s actually at war, they are making money. We also had an idea of selling water to Russia, meaning to Crimea.\u201d Later Aristov <\/span><span lang=\"RU\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ru.krymr.com\/a\/video-o-prodazhe-vody-krymu\/30421143.html\">said<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\">that it was just an idea that has no particular actions behind. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Meanwhile another MP from the \u201cServant of the People\u201d faction, Crimea-born Yelyzaveta Bohutska is against supplying of water in the occupied Crimea. \u201cWho to sell to? What is the actual status of Crimea? With whom should the agreement be signed? What the other side is up to, if it wants to be buying this water? It\u2019s occupation! Selling water in our territory to the occupants is not acceptable. Let them give us back Crimea and we will gladly supply water immediately. It\u2019s the joint position of the faction,\u201d Bohutska said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">MPs from other factions. <\/span><\/b><\/em><em><span lang=\"EN-US\">MP from the \u201cEuropean Solidarity\u201d (Yevropeiska Solidarnist) faction Akhtem Chyihoz who has his friends and family members living in Crimea, is strongly against the restoration of water supply. \u201cAs for our citizens, they do understand that\u2019s what the fight against the occupants is. Representatives of the President\u2019s party saying that that\u2019s their way of caring about their co-nationals is a lie and an attempt to trick the society. What it does is it proves that part of the President\u2019s team from \u2018Servant of the People\u2019 party is ready to cooperate with Russia,\u201d Chyihoz said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">Mejlis. <\/span><\/b><span lang=\"EN-US\">Head of the Mejlis (highest representative body) of the Crimean Tatar people Refat Chubarov said the possibility of selling water would only \u201creinforce the position of the peninsula\u2019s occupation.\u201d \u201cOnly after the troops are withdrawn we will open the first gateways. There are no other compromises.\u201d Chubarov added that there is enough potable water in Crimea right now. There can be water scarcity in agriculture and at the Russian military bases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">The newly appointed head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak said that Ukraine had never discussed with Russia the possibility of restoring the water supply. He added that Davyd Arakhamia\u2019s words are nothing but his own opinion. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b><span lang=\"EN-US\">What do residents of the occupied peninsula say?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Representative of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people in Krasnoperekopskyi district of the Republic of Crimea Muzaraf Fukala is strongly against Ukraine selling water to Crimea. \u201cThe majority of Crimean Tatars is against Ukraine selling water to the peninsula. It will be Ukraine\u2019s betrayal. There are also assumptions that they might free our prisoners in exchange for the water.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Oleg Sentsov said that people can be exchanged for people only, not for political compromises. The Kremlin\u2019s logic is quite the opposite. Prospects of yet another internal disagreement in Ukraine are on the horizon.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Ukrainians may get to choose between a political decision (restoring water supply in Crimea) on one pan of the scales and a humanitarian stance (return of Ukrainian citizens) placed on the other. Water supply to the peninsula will be presented as a humanitarian act.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">It\u2019s clear that restoring water supply in the occupied Crimea will mean Kyiv losing a lever of influence on the Kremlin and Ukraine\u2019s ultimate recognition of the peninsula\u2019s illegal annexation.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This week Crimea\u2019s water supplies are actively discussed in Ukraine. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, water supply to the peninsula through the North Crimean Canal became not just an economic but also a political issue. On February 11, 2020 the head of the faction \u201cServant of the People\u201d (\u201cSluha Narodu\u201d) Davyd Arakhamia made a [&hellip;] <a class=\"g1-link g1-link-more\" href=\"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply\">More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":98813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[705,748],"tags":[],"section":[743],"form":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Crimea: water supply becoming a tool for political pressure | UACRISIS.ORG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This week Crimea\u2019s water supplies are actively discussed in Ukraine. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, water supply to the peninsula through the North | Uacrisis.org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Crimea: water supply becoming a tool for political pressure | UACRISIS.ORG\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This week Crimea\u2019s water supplies are actively discussed in Ukraine. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, water supply to the peninsula through the North | Uacrisis.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uacrisis.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uacrisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-02-14T19:37:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-02-17T11:37:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Cover-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"695\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uacrisis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uacrisis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\u041c\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430 \u0411\u0456\u043b\u0430\u0441\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Crimea: water supply becoming a tool for political pressure | UACRISIS.ORG","description":"This week Crimea\u2019s water supplies are actively discussed in Ukraine. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, water supply to the peninsula through the North | Uacrisis.org","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Crimea: water supply becoming a tool for political pressure | UACRISIS.ORG","og_description":"This week Crimea\u2019s water supplies are actively discussed in Ukraine. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, water supply to the peninsula through the North | Uacrisis.org","og_url":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply","og_site_name":"Uacrisis.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uacrisis\/","article_published_time":"2020-02-14T19:37:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-02-17T11:37:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":695,"url":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Cover-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@uacrisis","twitter_site":"@uacrisis","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"\u041c\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430 \u0411\u0456\u043b\u0430\u0441","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/uk\/#organization","name":"Ukraine crisis media center","url":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/uk\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uacrisis\/","http:\/\/youtube.com\/UACrisisMediaCenter","https:\/\/twitter.com\/uacrisis"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/uk\/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/header_logo-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/header_logo-1.png","width":250,"height":90,"caption":"Ukraine crisis media center"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/uk\/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/uk\/","name":"Uacrisis.org","description":"Ukraine crisis media center","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/uk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Cover-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Cover-2.jpg","width":1024,"height":695},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply#webpage","url":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply","name":"Crimea: water supply becoming a tool for political pressure | UACRISIS.ORG","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2020-02-14T19:37:58+00:00","dateModified":"2020-02-17T11:37:35+00:00","description":"This week Crimea\u2019s water supplies are actively discussed in Ukraine. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, water supply to the peninsula through the North | Uacrisis.org","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u0413\u043b\u0430\u0432\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0430","item":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Crimea: water supply becoming a tool for political pressure"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/78c5d7897a959f7bf7116a6ea85173d4"},"headline":"Crimea: water supply becoming a tool for political pressure","datePublished":"2020-02-14T19:37:58+00:00","dateModified":"2020-02-17T11:37:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply#webpage"},"wordCount":1319,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/uk\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Cover-2.jpg","articleSection":["Press release","Society"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/74909-crimea-water-supply#respond"]}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/78c5d7897a959f7bf7116a6ea85173d4","name":"\u041c\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0430 \u0411\u0456\u043b\u0430\u0441"}]}},"wps_subtitle":"","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98812"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98812"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=98812"},{"taxonomy":"form","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/form?post=98812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}