“Hooray! They’ve already started processing payments for Yalta!” — this “example of positive thinking” is currently making the rounds on all pro-Russian Crimean social media pages. The propagandists’ joy stems from the fact that residents of the Southern Coast can now also claim 15,000 rubles — a sum the occupiers are giving to Crimeans who have lived without electricity for at least two days. Yalta, Alushta, and the surrounding villages — which until now had been in a privileged position compared to other regions of the peninsula — have been without power for five days now.

Screenshot from a propaganda Telegram channel 

It was right here that wealthy Russians bought up homes on a massive scale during the 12 years of occupation. And now they, too, want compensation. 

“I have a neighbor, Vasily, from the Moscow region. He’s a businessman. I don’t know what kind of business he’s in, but he bought this house in 2017 for next to nothing. The owners were forced to sell it in a hurry and leave: they started getting seriously ‘pressured’ when people found out that their nephew works for the SBU in Mykolaiv. So, Vasily says to me: ‘Well, did you get the 15,000?’ ‘Not yet,’ I say, ‘what about you?’ ‘No chance for me,’ he says, ‘I’m registered in Kolomna…’ And there’s such sadness in his eyes, as if he’s about to starve to death. ‘You’re a businessman, after all — you basically snatched this house for free, and you’ve got a place to live in Kolomna. “Why not go? No, he wants to go to the seaside. And grab the 15,000 while he’s at it. They’ll take anything,” a resident of Partenit tells CEMAAT on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, a humanitarian crisis continues in the north of the peninsula. There has been no electricity here at all for three weeks. A few days ago, the occupying authorities announced that power had been restored. In reality, this means that electricity is available once a day for two hours. The voltage in the grid is too low to use electrical appliances. Still, people are happy just to be able to charge their phones and stay connected. Only non-potable water flows from the taps, and only in areas where there are generators. Fuel for these generators is a major headache for the residents themselves. That’s why volunteers are constantly raising funds on social media and asking for help with gasoline. Drinking water and food are also being delivered to villages in the Dzhankoy District at private expense. Local stores only sell grains, pasta, cookies, and chips — there has been no milk or meat here for a long time.