KYIV – Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says Kyiv will suspend trade with Russian-occupied Crimea in one month.
Mr. Yatsenyuk said at a government meeting on December 16 that Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers had decided that “the supplying of goods, work and services to Crimea and from Crimea” will be banned within 30 days.
The only exceptions, he said, would be “personal items, socially important foods and humanitarian aid.”
Mr. Yatsenyuk added that the restoration of electricity to Crimea is a separate issue that could be decided only by Ukraine’s Security and Defense Council.
Crimea, which was annexed by Russia early last year, is suffering long blackouts after pylons that supplied the peninsula were blown up by unknown people in November.
The issue has caused a crisis in Crimea and has worsened Ukrainian-Russian tensions. Russia has suspended coal exports to Ukraine in retaliation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to deliver new electricity supplies to power-short Crimea in a surprise visit to the disputed territory on December 2. He attended a ceremony to launch an undersea cable project that he called an “energy bridge,” bringing a new supply of power to the peninsula, which gets most of its electricity from Ukraine. On December 15, a second power line was switched on.
Based on reporting by Reuters, TASS and the Associated Press.