That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Saturday, November 21. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage.
Pylon 'blown up' in Ukraine, causing Crimea's blackout:
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.”
Electricity supplies to Crimea are delivered along four main power lines from Ukraine’s Kherson region.
Early 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.
Crimea was annexed from Ukraine by Russia in March 2014, resulting in ongoing international sanctions against Russia. (Reuters, BBC, TASS, Interfax)