The Head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, a member of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Eskender Bariiev, said that there is enough water in Crimea to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe, if we exclude its active use for the armed forces of the Russian Federation. He stated this during the expert discussion “War for Water: Why Expect the Continuation of the Russian Invasion and What Ukraine Can Do” at the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center.
“Russia's need for the Dnieper water remains, and it will continue to try to get the Dnieper water. But I want to say unequivocally that the water resources in Crimea are enough for the civilian population. Excluding the active use of water for the armed forces of the Russian Federation, for example, to fill the radiators of tanks and armored personnel carriers with water, there is enough water in Crimea so that there is no humanitarian disaster there”,- Bariiev said.
Speaking about a possible invasion, the Head of the Board of the CTRC noted that Ukraine should always be ready for it and work in several directions, the first of which is to strengthen the deterrence of a possible attack from the Russian Federation, given the contingent of Russian troops located in Crimea and in the Southeast of Ukraine.
Bariiev also stressed the need to strengthen control over the dam on the North Crimean Canal. According to the expert, there should be a clear consolidation of all sectors – the public, the human rights sector, the executive branch and business – in order to protect Ukraine from further aggression.
“I think it is right that the authorities and the public actively declare about the threat to Ukraine from Russia and thus attract the attention of the international community, American and European experts in order to take timely preventive measures in the form of strengthening the sanctions policy, in the form of strengthening the Ukrainian army”,- a member of the Mejlis underlined.
In his opinion, today’s work in this direction is one of the most important for Ukraine.
“It is important for the West to understand that if there is an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, the problem of refugees from Ukraine will be more costly for the West than timely assistance to Ukraine and timely preventive action in the form of sanctions against the aggressor country. Today this is one of the important stages in ensuring the protection of Ukraine at the diplomatic level”,- Bariiev emphasized.