Crimea Blockade: Power blackout, fight, injured journalists

The journalists were beaten as a result of conflict among the security forces and the activists of the “civil blockade of Crimea” in Kherson region, southern Ukraine.

The transmission pylons were blown up on Saturday, November 21, said head of the national police department for combating drug crime Illia Kiva, who was at the conflict’s scene. Editor-in-Chief of Crimean Tatar TV Channel ATR Osman Pashayev informed about the explosion in Chaplynka (Kherson region).

Almost the entire Crimean peninsula was left without electricity by Saturday’s midnight Kyiv time. The total power blackout was reported in Simferopol, Sevastopol, Feodosia, Kerch and Yevpatoria, the Ukrayinska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth) online newspaper reports citing Crimea.Realities portal.

November 21, the Crimean Tatar activists, who gathered near the destroyed pylons and tried to prevent their restoration, were cordoned by the armed special forces officers.

The journalists were among those injured as a result of clashes.

In particular, journalist of the ATR TV channel Hulsum Khalilova was hit in stomach, QHA news website reports, referring to ATR’s Deputy Director Ayder Mudzhabayaev, the Institute of Mass Information informs.

In turn, Information Policy Minister of Ukraine Yuri Stets said he would appeal to the Interior Ministry with the demand to initiate criminal proceedings over beating of Khalilova.

The journalists of the Khersonski Visti (Kherson News) were also beaten, the Center for Investigative Journalism reports, referring to journalist Linda Metzher.

The blockade activists attacked the journalists when they tried to approach the damaged pylons. In particular, according to the journalist, the activists and representatives of the Right Sector first were rude to journalists and then tried to overturn their car.

“They made several attempts to overturn our car, ten men beat our colleague (knocked him down and kicked). At the end, we were thrown to the car as meat and were ordered to go away,” Metzher posted on Facebook.

According to Metzher, the protesters decided that the Khersonski Visti newspaper was in some way linked with head of the police department for combating drug crime, former deputy head of the Interior Ministry department in Kherson region, Illia Kiva.

Today, the Ukraine’s Energy Ministry press service has reported that “electricity supply in two districts of Kherson region and Autonomous Republic of Crimea was forcedly stopped. The supply to 40% of consumers in Kherson and Mykolayiv regions is also at risk.”

Energy and Coal Industry Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn said that the Ukrainian energy workers made every effort to restore the safe operation of the Ukrainian power grid.