Kyiv's investigation into power blockade of Crimea can't be objective - Aksyonov
SIMFEROPOL. March 3 (Interfax) - An investigation conducted by the Ukrainian authorities into the power blockade of Crimea, which the UN is asking Ukraine to conduct, cannot be objective, Sergei Aksyonov, the head of Crimea, said.
"I don't understand their goals. Maybe they want to do this to present them in a good light: they will conduct and investigation and then they will say they did everything right. They are doing exactly the opposite. Their only purpose is to do the worst possible thing to us. I think they will come and present Lemur Islyamov [organizer of the power blockade, businessman] as a hero of a specific marginal group," Aksyonov was quoted by his press service as saying.
On Thursday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report by the UN on the situation with rights and freedoms in Ukraine in the period between November 16, 2015 and February 15, 2016. The document calls on Kyiv to investigate the statements on human rights violations committed during the blackout in Crimea.
Aksyonov recalled that the power blockade of the peninsula is being investigated by Crimean prosecutors. "The damage done by these citizens [the organizers] will be calculated when they are detained. And they will be detained sometime, they will be held responsible," Aksyonov said.
A state of emergency was put in place in Crimea on November 22, 2015 after two power line supports used for supplying most of the electrical power to Crimea were blown up in southern Ukraine. Crimea needs 1,350 megawatts for normal life. The peninsula is now short of 30-35%. Rotating outages now take place on the peninsula.
Russia put into operation the first and second threads of the power bridge in December 2015 ahead of schedule. The supply of electrical power to Crimea from Ukraine stopped in 2016. The third and fourth threads of the power bridge are expected to be put into operation before May. They will give Crimea some 430 megawatts.
