Original published by ntv.ru; translated from Russian by J.Hawk
Russia decided to stop commercial electricity deliveries to Ukraine. The contract which expired at the end of 2015 will not be extended. The relevant announcement was made by Russia’s Ministry of Energy.
The Ministry source said that the contract will not be renewed since it was initially linked to Ukraine’s agreement to supply electricity to Crimea.
In 2014, Ukraine purchased electricity from Russia’s power grid under a contract between Inter RAO and Ukrinterenergo, whose term expired at the end of 2015. A contract on supplying Crimea with electricity from Ukraine was signed at the same time. It also expired at the end of 2015. Kiev insisted that Crimea be listed as Ukraine’s territory on the new contract.
Crimeans decided not to succumb to Kiev’s energy blackmail, agreeing to limited energy black-outs over the next 3-4 months. The next “energy bridge” line across the Kerch Strait is scheduled to go online by May 1.
