Russian authorities say a state of emergency introduced in Crimea early on November 22 was the result of an attack on a power transmission tower in Ukraine that disrupted electricity deliveries to nearly to nearly 2 million people on the peninsula.
Russian authorities say the electricity supplies, which are delivered over electrical cables from Ukraine’s Kherson region north of Crimea, were cut off because a pylon was blown up.
TASS quoted the director of Crimea’s Krymenergo power company, Viktor Plakida, as saying that Crimea was "in blackout."
Crimea officials said on November 22 they had managed to partially reconnect the peninsula's major cities, using generators.
Electricity supplies to Crimea are delivered along four main power lines from Ukraine’s Kherson region.
Earier, on November 20, Ukrainian police said transmission towers had been damaged in the Kherson region, prompting two power lines to Crimea to be disconnected from the grid.
Ukrainian officials said they encountered activists blockading the site when they tried to repair the damaged pylons.
Russian news agencies reported that Crimean Tatars, a local ethnic group that opposes Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula, held a protest at the site.
Crimea was annexed from Ukraine by Russia in March 2014, resulting in ongoing international sanctions against Russia.
