Blockade of Crimea

Today at noon the Ukrainian authorities began a food blockade of Crimea, blocking all the main roads in the Kherson region. The main  were the active forces of the Right Sector organisation. Some deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, the leader of the unregistered organization 'Majlis of Crimean Tatars' Refat Chubarov and Mustafa Cemil supported the initiative to stop supplying food to Russian Crimea. Extremists of the movement Right Sector also joined them later.

The head of Crimea, Sergey Aksenov, stated that the blockade of Crimea cannot do much damage to the peninsula. "The action reminds me of the comedy film The Italian Job, where Mario had informed everybody before a bank robbery. The aim of the action is probably to convince their creditors that they will do anything in order to create destructive conditions on the border with the Republic of Crimea,’’ Aksenov said.

He also noted the process of import substitution in Crimea. Ukrainian products amount to only 5% of goods sold in Crimean stores, RIA Novosti reports.

"The situation in Crimea is under control, food supplies have been delivered and the Kerch ferry works very well. We have no problems. We have been preparing for this for a long period of time," Aksenov added.

A few days before the blockade, the head of the Committee of the State Council of Crimea on Agrarian Policy, Yury Shevchenko, declared that the borders will be closed.

‘‘There won’t be a complete blockade. That is obvious. It's just another racket. People will make additional payments in order to cross the border. It is very profitable for the organizers," he noted.

He also underlined that Ukraine receives a lot of food products, mainly meat, milk, vegetables and fruits. Shevchenko expressed confidence that the suspension of the supply of vegetables is extremely beneficial to Crimean agricultural producers, as the deficit of the other groups will be filled by supplies from other regions of Russia.

At the same time, the regional authorities promised to introduce fines for unjustified price increases due to the product blockade.

According to Verkhovna Rada deputy Refat Chubarov, about 100 trucks are on the border checkpoint near Kalanchak. The MP also wrote on his Facebook page about "very heated discussions with the drivers. But people will be able to cross the border. We don’t know what they are waiting for. Some trucks are leaving this place."

According to the recent information, the international border crossing at Perekop is the only way to reach Crimea from the Ukrainian side.