Ukraine to resume power supplies to Crimea once activists are ready

“Right now our power stations have enough coal reserves in storage to last for at least one month”.

Ukraine has been earlier this year facing coal shortages as two-thirds of its coal mines have been shut down due to an armed conflict with pro-Russian separatists over the past 18 months, affecting its major coal-producing areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. “But in the long-term problematic questions will arise”. Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said on November 24 that Russia might cut coal supplies to punish Ukraine for what he said was its deliberate refusal to help rebuild power lines to Crimea that were blown up by unknown saboteurs.

The TASS news agency wrote that Crimea might start receiving 220 kilowatts of electricity on Thursday, quoting an unidentified source at the Energy Ministry in Kiev.

Crimea’s energy specialists finished preparations of the infrastructure for the launch of the electricity supplies lines to Crimea from the Krasnodar Territory on November 28.

Russian Federation has accused Ukraine of “torturing” Crimeans with the power cut and has in retaliation, halted deliveries of coal to Ukraine.

The minister said two ships carrying 168,000 mt and 80,000 mt of anthracite respectively, are heading to Ukraine from South Africa and expected to arrive on December 4 and December 12.

Russia’s state-controlled gas company Gazprom said that it stopped sending gas to Ukraine on Wednesday morning and will supply no more because Ukraine has not paid in advance for more deliveries.

Ukraine said it was its own decision to stop buying gas from Russian Federation after it was offered better prices from other European countries.

Volodymyr Demchyshyn told reporters Ukraine was ready to meet about 20 percent of Crimea’s power supplies once the line was repaired.