Kuleba: Lack of water in Crimea is consequence of Russia's actions

"The position is very simple, it is enshrined in international law, where there is a clear rule that the occupying power shall control the situation in the occupied territory and shall be fully responsible for it. Accordingly, the lack of water in Crimea is a consequence of the actions of the Russian Federation as an occupying power, for which it is fully responsible. And the Crimean people should advance their claims to the Russian Federation," Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said on the air of the Dom Ukrainian TV channel.

According to the minister, it is impossible to make any concessions on this issue if there is no real de-occupation of the Crimean peninsula, and Ukraine does not have enough guarantees that it will be successfully completed and will not stop halfway.

"There will be no water in the North Crimean Canal until a Ukrainian flag is hoisted in Simferopol and Sevastopol!" the minister summed up.

As reported, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated it was impossible to supply water to Crimea. According to him, the issue of resumption of Dnieper water supplies through the North Crimean Canal is not on the agenda of the Ukrainian Government yet.

At the same time, according to Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov, the issue of water supply to the occupied Crimea may be a pretext to expand aggression for Russian president Vladimir Putin.

A similar view was expressed by Ben Hodges, ex-Commanding General of the United States Army Europe. According to him, Russia may declare a "humanitarian crisis" in Crimea due to lack of water during the Caucasus 2020 exercise and then seize the dam in Kherson region to return water to the annexed peninsula, saying it "had no other choice."

Water shortage began in Crimea after Russia's annexation of the peninsula in 2014, when Ukraine stopped supplies through the North Crimean Canal.

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