In occupied Crimea, people are being forced to register for military service in order to receive compensation for power and water cuts. PHOTO
Residents of the northern regions of the temporarily occupied Crimea claim that, in order to receive compensation for the prolonged disruptions to electricity and water supplies, they have been required to register for military service. According to them, men are being refused compensation payments unless they have the relevant registration.
According to Censor.NET, Crimeans are writing about this in the comments sections under posts by the peninsula’s occupying leader, Sergey Aksyonov, as well as in local online communities.
This concerns a one-off payment of 15,000 roubles, which the occupying authorities promised to residents of settlements that were left without electricity and water supplies for more than two days following attacks on energy infrastructure.
According to one resident of the Dzhankoy district, when submitting documents, men are allegedly required to have a stamp in their passport confirming their registration for military service. However, this condition does not appear in the approved list of required documents – to claim the payment, it is sufficient to confirm residence at the relevant address through registration or other official documents.
A woman contacted Sergey Aksyonov to ask whether this requirement was lawful and whether it applied to the whole of occupied Crimea. She did not receive a public response.
According to one local news source, citing the administration of the Azov rural settlement, the military registration requirement applies to men, as well as women with medical qualifications, who, under Russian law, fall into the category of those liable for military service.
In addition, residents of occupied Crimea are complaining of further difficulties in claiming compensation. Despite promises that applications could be submitted via the ‘Derzhposlugi’ portal, people are being forced to travel in person to local administrations. Due to a shortage of fuel and transport, residents of remote villages find it difficult to reach district centres, where they are also forced to wait for hours in queues.
Meanwhile, the situation regarding the electricity supply in the north of the occupied peninsula remains difficult. On social media, people are reporting that some settlements have been without power for around a week. Aksyonov himself has admitted that it is currently impossible to draw up clear timetables for restoring the electricity supply, promising to explain the reasons for the widespread power cuts only once the crisis is over.
