The Crimean Peninsula, which seceded from Ukraine and rejoined Russia in March last year, has declared a state of emergency after its major electricity power lines from Ukraine were “blown up,” causing a power outage there.
“By decision of the head of the Crimean Republic, a state of emergency has been introduced on the peninsula,” the Crimean branch of Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement released on Sunday, citing a switch-off of electricity coming into the region from Ukraine in the early hours of the day.
Ilya Kiva, the head of the anti-narcotics department of Ukraine’s Interior Ministry wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday that “the pylons have just been blown up.’
However, Crimean authorities later said that they had managed to partially reconnect the cities of Simferopol and Yalta as well as the town of Saky by using generators.
The incident is the second of its kind over the past few days in the Black Sea peninsula. Ukraine’s news agency (UNIAN) reported that two of the main power lines into Crimea had been attacked on Friday.
Ukraine’s state energy company, Ukrenergo, released pictures of a downed pylon and one with a hole blown through.
“The nature of the damage shows that it took place as a result of shelling or the use of explosive devices,” Ukrenergo said in a statement