Photo from UNIAN
It's the Russian military who lack freshwater resources in the occupied peninsula.
In the occupied Crimea, there is enough drinking water for the needs of the population, said Deputy Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine Yuriy Hrymchak.
The official recalled that, about a month ago, the idea that water supplies from mainland Ukraine to the occupied Crimea should be resumed had been voiced by a president’s team representative, Pryamyi TV reports.
"It was a formally voiced idea [the official is referring to the statement by the advisor to the president on economic issues, future MP from the Servant of the People party, Daniil Hetmantsev, who suggested earlier in the month that Ukraine was harming its citizens by halting water supplies water to Crimea]. And here I must say that the Mejlis [of the Crimean Tatar People] for its part and the ministry for its part explained the issue and said that, look, there is no humanitarian component in water supplies to Crimea," said Hrymchak.
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He noted that, according to the data obtained, there is more than enough drinking water in Crimea for the local population".
"The one who lack water resources is a Russian military base, which is huge there, as well as industrial production. But this is not a problem of Ukraine, this is a problem of the occupying authorities. The same situation is with the electric power industry, as well as railway traffic," the official added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian president's permanent envoy to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Anton Korinevych, on Monday, July 29, said the position on ceased water supplies via the North-Crimean Canal to the occupied Crimea is "right and correct".
"Ukraine must apply the mechanisms it has at its disposal to put pressure on the occupying state. For the occupying state, this question is certainly important, because it is, in fact, about economic activity on the territory of Crimea. But I believe that in the near future we won't see any changes in this approach. We cannot be talking about water supplies. In the situation that we have, we can't be talking about water supplies via the North Crimean Canal to Crimea. I believe that this position is unequivocal," said Korinevych.
UNIAN memo. After Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, Ukraine severed freshwater supplies from the Dnipro River that earlier flew via the North Crimean Canal.