The issue of a humanitarian disaster due to lack of water in Crimea is increasingly being raised by the occupying authorities of the peninsula. In this regard, Ukrainian politicians began to make various statements with different positions. Can’t officials of one country come to an agreement? Why is there no unified state policy? Where is the truth, and where is the lie: will Ukraine provide water to the occupied Crimea or not?
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On February 11, the MP of Ukraine Davyd Arakhamia noted that Ukraine could supply Dnieper water to the occupied Crimea in exchange for the liberation of the Donbas.
“If they agree to withdraw all their armed formations to Rostov, we will be able to establish full control over our border and for this we will have to give water to Crimea, I would definitely go for this”,- he said.
Later, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said that the supply of water is possible exclusively for household needs and drinking, but not for industrial and military facilities on the peninsula.
“We will not supply water for industrial and military facilities. An exclamation mark! And we will put an end to this. We will supply Ukrainians with water for household needs, for drinking: at least with barrels, at least with cans, at least with bottles, we must provide this. It is our duty to our Ukrainian people in Crimea”,- the Prime Minister of Ukraine said on March 6.
On August 7, Denys Shmygal again stressed that Ukraine, in case of need and a humanitarian disaster, will provide the Crimeans with water.
Also, the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group on resolving the situation in the Donbas, Leonid Kravchuk, joined this idea, saying that in case of a humanitarian catastrophe, the Ukrainians in Crimea can be provided with water.
“The country that seized the territory, the occupier, as it is in Crimea, is 100% responsible for providing this territory with everything it needs. Including water. But we say that Ukrainians live there. If some kind of humanitarian catastrophe suddenly happens , which is related to water, then people can be provided with water, "he said on August 25 .
At the same time, a number of Ukrainian politicians began to refute such statements, stressing that there is no humanitarian catastrophe in Crimea, and no one will supply anything there.
“People who live in Crimea have access to water. And therefore, the repetition of the narrative about the humanitarian crisis is just the strengthening of such a Russian signal. Of course, if people begin to suffer, we will need to think about how we can help them. But, I want emphasize very clearly that, according to international law, the occupying state bears full responsibility for the situation in the occupied territory. Period”,- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on August 17, adding that water will be supplied to Crimea only after its de-occupation.
“We are not exaggerating this issue, we are not talking about any water supply to Crimea. I don’t know who is raising this issue”,- said the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on August 20.
“We are not planning to supply anything to Crimea. We respect Mr. Kravchuk, but Mr. Kravchuk is not in parliament now, and I think that now there is no chance in parliament to make such decisions or even consider them”,- said Davyd Arakhamia, chairman of the Servant of the People faction on August 25.
“The issue of water supply is being discussed at different levels, however, we want to say that Ukraine has a clear position, which was also voiced by Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, that all responsibility for what is happening in Crimea lies on the occupying side. Accordingly, Russia must ensure the provision of the civilian population with all the necessary resources. Nothing has changed yet and the position is the same – no water before de-occupation”,- said Tamila Tasheva, Deputy Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the ARC on August 26.
“There are no grounds for a “humanitarian catastrophe” in the occupied Crimea due to lack of water. Local water resources can satisfy the household needs of the population. And the problem of water supply to stolen industrial agricultural and other enterprises, as well as Russian military facilities, should be left for the Russian occupation authorities to solve”,- wrote the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksii Danilov via his Facebook page on August 26.
After reading all the statements of Ukrainian officials, one main question remains: whom we should believe?
Meanwhile, the occupants are actively engaged in clearing the channel of the North Crimean Canal in the occupied Crimea.