By Andrey BORODULIN
Agence France-Presse
SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine, June 23, 2023 (AFP) – Selling lavender at a train station in Ukraine’s Russian-annexed Crimea, Tatyana Bocharnikova said she was unfazed by the fighting or potential water supply cuts after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.
“The wells are full of water, the river is too and the reservoirs are full,” the 64-year-old said in the peninsula’s regional capital, Simferopol.
The Kakhovka dam creates a reservoir which feeds the Soviet-built North Crimean canal that supplies the region.
In the aftermath of the dam’s destruction on June 6 which Kyiv and Moscow have blamed on each other, the water level in the reservoir fell steeply.
That raised concerns among Russian officials that the canal could run dry.
But Bocharnikova said she thought any supply disruption was “impossible”.
She also said she did not particularly feel any impact from the fighting, which has intensified in recent weeks.
Crimea was taken over by Russia in 2014 and is increasingly a target of strikes and sabotage attacks which Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out.
“We are happy to have been living in Russia for so many years. It really is good luck,” said Bocharnikova, although she complained about rising food prices.
“What can you do? You have to get through it,” she added, with a smile and a wink.
Igor Dedenov, a 21-year-old, said the water in the canal was sufficient for him and his friend to go fishing.
“It seems the level is being kept up by the abundant rain at the moment,” said the young man with short hair and a T-shirt bearing the word “Kansas”.
– ‘No worries’ –
Following the annexation of Crimea, water supplies in the canal fell and there were shortages in the peninsula.
That changed after Russian forces took control of the entire canal after the start of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine in February, 2022.
Residents of Simferopol said they were optimistic there would be no shortages.
“I do not think our government will leave us without water,” said Matilda Galushkina, a 21-year-old cosmetician. At worst seawater can be filtered, she added.
“Maybe we will have to save water a bit and they will cut off water for some periods as they did before but it’s not so bad,” she said.
“We know all this, we have been without water and electricity and we survived. Everything is fine. There are no worries.”
Her friend Alexandra Kostenko, 22, said there were only “very rare cases” of residents panicking, particularly those who had arrived in Crimea more recently.
But the problem with water is only one of the threats facing the territory.
The region has been hit repeatedly by drone and missile strikes.
Russian officials said on Thursday that a bridge connecting Crimea to Russian-held territory in southern Ukraine had been hit.
Moscow last year blamed Ukraine for a blast on the main bridge connecting Crimea to the Russian mainland.
Nikita Volkov, a 33-year-old rope access operator, said Russia had been building up its defenses and he was not concerned about the situation.
“Air defense takes care of the drones. If this was not the case then we could be worried,” he said, before taking off on his motorbike — a USSR symbol emblazoned on the back of his black leather jacket.
