2015-12-31 09:27:00

Power cuts and clashes in Ukraine


(Vatican Radio) Local authorities say Ukraine has again cut off a major source of electrical power to Crimea, a month after saboteurs first plunged the peninsula annexed by Russia into darkness. Besides people in Crimea, residents in eastern Ukraine also face an uncertain New Year amid concerns over a shaky holiday season ceasefire violated by Ukrainian government troops and Russian backed separatists and a trade war between Kiev and Moscow.

Listen to the full report by Stefan Bos:

 

The governor of Crimea's Sevastopol city said Ukraine cut off the key Kakhovka-Titan line to Crimea overnight adding to worries that many of the peninsula's two million people will face severe electricity shortages.

A Ukrainian operator of the power grid, Ukrenergo, said it shut down the line because of faulty equipment in the town of Kakhovka.

Crimean authorities already say they will limit the use of electricity following the power interruption, which began at around 10 p.m. late Wednesday.

Officials are concerned that the peninsula will face similar problems. In late November Crimea had no electricity supplies after saboteurs blew up pylons in southern Ukraine. Ukrainian nationalists prevented Ukrainian energy workers from repairing them to protest Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula last year.

RESIDENTS' WORRIES

Besides residents in Crimea, many people in war torn eastern Ukraine also face an uncertain New Year. Several people have been killed in clashes in recent days despite a holiday truce between government forces and pro-Russian separatists. Adding to misery is an announcement by Kiev that it will approve a ban on the import of some Russian goods this New Year in response to similar actions by Moscow.

Ukraine's Ministry of Economy and Trade says it has drawn up a list of 43 products from Russia whose import will be banned starting from January 10 ranging from meat and dairy products to alcohol such as wines and railway hardware, including locomotives.

Yet amid a war on the ground and a trade war, the leaders of Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine have used some of the last hours of 2015 to talk about peace. In a telephone conference they renewed their support for a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko reaffirmed their commitment to what was described as the "concerted withdrawal without delay of heavy weapons."

It was their first discussion since meeting in Paris on October 2. Their foreign ministers are meeting by early February to discuss peace in what is expected to be yet another turbulent year.








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