23 November 2015, 07:30 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Some 2.5 million people were left without electricity in Crimea and Sevastopol as power was cut following explosions that toppled high-tension wire support pylons in Ukraine, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said in a statement Monday.
"1,020 settlements with more than 1.96 million people in Crimea, and more than 390,000 people in Sevastopol were left without electricity," the statement said.
On Saturday, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said that pylons supporting power lines that supply Crimea with electricity had been blown up in southern Ukraine earlier that day.
Most of the region was in darkness after electricity was cut. Crimea declared a state of emergency and switched to locally-based power generation. Medical and other elements of social infrastructure institutions are relying on backup power sources.
