Ukraine will not supply water to Russian military bases in Crimea - Tsymbaliuk

TR_123456 · Oct 23, 2020

Ukraine will not meet the water needs of Russian military bases in Crimea, and the restoration of water supply is possible only after the de-occupation of the peninsula.

Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk said this at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday, October 22, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
"If the occupying power declares a lack of water resources for the population, we understand that the water resources are being diverted for other purposes, such as the functioning of the military-industrial complex and bases. Ukraine is not going to satisfy the Russian military-industrial complex' water needs," Tsymbaliuk said, commenting on the topic of water supply to Crimea.
He informed the delegations of the OSCE participating states that Ukraine did not block any natural watercourse or river carrying water to Crimea.
"Ukraine merely suspended the artificial water preference, previously provided to accelerate the economic and agricultural development of the peninsula. Internal water resources of Crimea are sufficient to meet the water needs of the population of the peninsula even in the driest years," Tsymbaliuk said.
He stressed that according to international humanitarian law, the occupying state bears full responsibility for the situation in the temporarily occupied territory. Among other things, it concerns the matter of providing the population of the temporarily occupied territory with resources, including water, he said.

"The resumption of water supply to Crimea from mainland Ukraine is possible only after the peninsula's de-occupation," Tsymbaliuk said.

On September 7, the third, most severe stage of water supply restrictions began in Simferopol, Bakhchysarai and Simferopol districts of Russian-occupied Crimea due to drought and shallowing of reservoirs.