State Duma Chairman Viacheslav Volodin told reporters that the Ukrainian authorities will not be able to disrupt the construction of desalination complexes in Crimea.
According to him, such intentions only demonstrate Kiev's hatred for the inhabitants of the peninsula.
“You have to hate people so much!
Ukraine has always shown such an attitude towards people in Crimea.
Having previously cut off the access of fresh water through the canal, they now want to make efforts to deprive people of water altogether.
Of course, they will not succeed, ”Volodin said.
Thus, the speaker of the State Duma reacted to the words of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba, who on December 24 on the air of the Ukraine 24 TV channel said that Kiev would make every effort to block the implementation of the project to create a desalination infrastructure in Crimea.
“There was a statement ... that they (the Crimean authorities. -
RT
) are attracting a large international company to implement water desalination technologies.
We immediately started work and we will definitely find it, and we will prevent it from implementing this project, ”Kuleba threatened.
Also, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry promised that Kiev will continue to "limit the possibilities for Russian arbitrariness" on the peninsula and will begin "to create such conditions in world politics that will" squeeze "Russia out of Crimea."
Recall that on December 21, at a meeting on the problems of water supply in the region, the head of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said that no significant sources of groundwater were found in the region of Simferopol and Yalta.
In this regard, the final decision was made to build desalination complexes for water supply to these two cities.
“The decision was made to install desalination in Yalta for guaranteed water supply.
The same situation from the point of view of underground sources - in the region of Simferopol, ”Aksyonov said.
According to the head of the republic, the work should start on January 1, 2021, the approximate implementation period is from 14 to 16 months.
At the same time, there was no information in the media that the head of Crimea spoke about the involvement of a large foreign company in the project.
Comprehensive measures
Let us remind you that Ukraine closed the locks of the North Crimean Canal running from the Dnieper, which provided up to 85% of the republic's needs for fresh water, after the reunification of the peninsula with Russia.
All these years, Crimea used the resources of reservoirs, which were replenished due to precipitation, but in 2020, due to drought, the reservoirs became very shallow.
The federal center and regional authorities plan to solve this problem with the help of complex measures, which include desalination, drilling of wells, repair of water supply networks, construction of water intakes and wastewater treatment devices.
Since October of this year, the implementation of the plan for the water supply of Crimea for 2020-2024, approved by the Russian government, has begun.
The total amount of financing for the planned activities will exceed 48 billion rubles.
So, in March 2021, the structures of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation must complete the creation of a water intake on the Belbek River.
The operation of this facility will increase the daily water supply by 50 thousand cubic meters.
Earlier, the military has already built several hydraulic facilities, improving the water supply of Simferopol and Sevastopol.
In particular, in mid-December, a water conduit was launched at the Kadykovsky quarry.
During the work, more than 10 km of pipes were laid.
“A unique technology was applied - a floating pontoon pumping station with six high-performance pumps.
The capacity of the station is 15 thousand cubic meters per day, ”said Alexey Trubachev, advisor to the director of the main military construction department No. 4, about the water pipeline project earlier.
The Kremlin and Simferopol are confident that the problem of water supply to the peninsula will be solved without Ukraine.
In a commentary on RT, Andrey Suzdaltsev, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the Higher School of Economics, noted that the issue of water supply to Crimea requires serious financial and time costs, but this problem can be solved without the help of Kiev.
“Construction of desalination plants in Crimea would be a good solution to the water problem.
Now, in principle, this technology is very developed.
True, the peninsula will need more powerful energy for this.
This is a big task for several years, ”said Suzdaltsev.
In turn, political consultant Denis Baturin living in Crimea said in a commentary to RT that Russia has enough resources to create modern desalination plants.
At the same time, he did not rule out that foreign technological solutions could be purchased to speed up the implementation of projects.
“Our country is able, without falling under sanctions and without looking back at the mosquito bites of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, to build what it considers necessary.
If domestic technologies are not enough, then Russia will find the right partner abroad, ”says Baturin.
"We will not wait for water from Ukraine"
The Ukrainian authorities traditionally justify the refusal to supply water to Crimea by their unwillingness to supply the "occupiers".
The civilian population, from the point of view of the Ukrainian government, does not yet experience problems with water, and in the event of a humanitarian catastrophe, Kiev is ready to send convoys with water tanks under the UN and Red Cross flags to the region.
Lake at Mount Gasfort
© sev.gov.ru
“There is not even anything to discuss here: there will be de-occupation of Crimea - there will be water ... No one will give water to military bases, the production of militarized Crimea.
In Crimea, there are enough drinking water supplies for the civilian population, ”Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said on December 22 in an interview with Suspilne Novini.
The day before, the deputy from the party "European Solidarity" Oleksiy Goncharenko registered in the Verkhovna Rada a bill banning the resumption of water supply to the region "until the restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula and the adjacent waters of the Black and Azov Seas."
Andrey Suzdaltsev believes that Kiev is trying to use the issue of water supply as a lever of influence on the situation in the republic.
It is for this reason that the Ukrainian leadership is actively speculating on this problem.
“The Ukrainian side is politicizing this issue in every possible way.
Although the UN Charter says that even in the event of hostilities, turning off water for the population is inhuman, it is a humanitarian catastrophe, this should not be done, ”said Suzdaltsev.
At the same time, the expert ruled out a scenario in which Kiev could prevent the creation of a desalination infrastructure on the peninsula.
Also, the interlocutor of RT doubts the ability of Ukrainian diplomacy to persuade Western states to impose tough sanctions against foreign companies, which, hypothetically, can be involved in the implementation of projects on the peninsula.
“Everything that Kiev is doing in the Crimean direction is explained by the desire to avenge the loss of territories ... In 2014-2015, Kiev limited the supply of food, then stopped supplying electricity.
These problems were very acute, but now they are irrelevant.
So it will be about the same with water, ”said Suzdaltsev.
Denis Baturin also believes that Kiev has no diplomatic capacity to blockade the construction of desalination complexes.
As the expert predicts, the West is unlikely to actively help Ukraine in this matter.
“In any case, we will not wait for water from Ukraine.
Both the authorities and residents do not expect any concessions from Kiev.
Water is not the first problem to be addressed.
I think that in the future, the current situation will go off the agenda, as the issues with transport links and energy were previously resolved, ”the expert concluded.