“We will need Russian infrastructure in Crimea,” fugitive Crimean ex-minister
There is enough water in Crimea for the needs of the population - Russia only needs to modernize its intra-city networks to eliminate large losses. This will also be useful for Ukraine, which plans to return the peninsula under its control.
This was stated on Channel 4 by the ex-minister of resorts and tourism of Crimea, the former head of the State Committee for Water Resources of the Republic, Alexander Liev, who left the peninsula after the coup in Ukraine along with his wife from Western Ukraine, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to Liev, by cutting off water supplies through the North Crimean Canal, Ukraine dealt a blow not to the population, but to the economy of the peninsula. At the same time, he is afraid that Russia will be able to completely solve the water supply problem through alternative sources.
“The water situation in Crimea today is difficult for the Crimean economy. This applies to the agricultural and industrial sectors, the cultivation of rice, soybeans or enterprises located there. They are really poor there because of lack of water. And this concerns, first of all, the economy. As for the issues of water for people, drinking water, Crimea has enough of its own drinking water to avoid any humanitarian catastrophe.
Ukraine did not cut off water to people, Ukraine cut off water to the economy of the peninsula. Crimea consumes approximately 100 million cubic meters per year for its population needs. And it has its own water debit per year, which can be used without harm to nature - 300 million cubic meters. Therefore, the only problem here is with the transfer of this water, because it is located unevenly across the peninsula, and it is a very expensive matter to transfer this water.
And there is also the issue of preserving this water, because the city of Simferopol, for example, wastes almost 60% of the water in its water networks, which is simply filtered due to the great wear and tear of the networks. Therefore, the occupier does not need to invent something about the bottom, engage in desalination - he needs to invest money in water transfer infrastructure and in updating housing and communal networks. We will need this when we de-occupy Crimea, this is the right decision - to encourage the occupier to make these expenses,” Liev said.
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