Crimea declares state of emergency after power lines attacked

Theguardian.com reports: Explosions on Friday and Sunday cut off electricity supply from Ukraine, forcing Russian-annexed peninsula to rely on generators Almost 2 million Crimeans were left without power and in darkness at the weekend after unknown saboteurs blew up power lines to the peninsula, underscoring its continued dependence on Ukraine despite its annexation by Russia last year. A state of emergency was declared after four pylons that transmit power to Crimea were blown up on Friday and Saturday night. Russia’s energy ministry scrambled to restore electricity to cities using generators, but the majority of people on the peninsula remained powerless on Saturday night. Cable and mobile internet stopped working, though there was still mobile phone coverage, and water supplies to high-rise buildings halted. The attacks threaten to complicate still-volatile relations between Moscow and Kiev after 18 months of on-off conflict over territory in the east of Ukraine. Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014 after an armed but bloodless intervention, but the territory’s status remains precarious because of its reliance on Ukraine...