DISINFO: Ukraine buried the main waterway of Crimea - the North Crimean Canal
SUMMARY
Ukraine buried the main water source of Crimea – the North Crimean Canal. The North Crimean Canal is completely destroyed. The Ukrainian government has buried entire branches of the national economy, dooming millions of people to a miserable existence. The North Crimean Canal, which previously supplied the Crimea with water and was actually the main water artery of the peninsula, was dehydrated and destroyed. After the Ukrainian authorities, together with the radicals, cut off the water on the peninsula, the canal was abandoned, it simply dried up.
RESPONSE
A recurring Kremlin narrative about the "destruction by Ukraine", in this case referring to the North Crimean Canal that supplied the Dnipro water to Crimea before the Russian annexation. The claim that a part of the North Crimean Canal (NCC), which is located in mainland Ukraine, is in "disrepair" due to the blockage of water after the Russian occupation of Crimea does not correspond to reality. The capacities of the water conduit in the Kherson region, which borders the Crimea, are periodically inspected, and also used for their intended purpose by the local population. For example, in March of this year, the Dnieper began to fill the channel of the North-Crimean Canal. In April, the channel of the NCC in the Kherson region was filled up to working levels for irrigation of agricultural lands. Nevertheless, the Crimean sections of the North Crimean Canal are really being destroyed. There is a huge amount of evidence pointing to the destruction and neglect of the North Crimean Canal in Crimea. Currently, Ukraine is not responsible for the parts of the NCC destroyed in Crimea, because, according to international law, it is Russia, as an occupying country, that is obliged to provide Crimeans with all necessities (Section III, Part III of the Geneva Convention of August 12, 1949 on the Protection of civilian population during war). This fact was once again confirmed by the UN Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. UN experts insist that, given the annexation of the Crimean peninsula, the Kremlin has primary responsibility for ensuring civilian access to water in Crimea.