“Long live Ukraine!”: Crimea is “blockaded”

For two days alreadyб a group of Ukrainian activists have been “blockading” Crimea. They have blocked three checkpoints on the border, with almost 200 trucks unable to enter the republic as a result.

Chief of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Oleh Slobodian has confirmed this fact.

According to the shift supervisor of the Armiansk checkpoint Sergey Govorukhin, a few trucks have been let into Crimea but now the checkpoint is blocked just like the checkpoint in Dzhankoy.

In his Facebook page, Deputy Head of the Kherson Region Interior Ministry Office Ilya Kiva has thanked the Crimean Tatars, the Right Sector and all those who have organized “this peacefully blockade of Crimea” for their “patriotism and love for Ukraine.” “We will win!!! Long live the Ukrainian nation!”

According to EADaily, the action was started on Sept 20 and involves representatives of Crimean Tatars and activists of the national-extremist Right Sector (banned in Russia). “We will blockade Crimea until the Supreme Rada approves bills regulating contacts between Ukraine and occupied Crimea,” Ukrainian MP Refat Chubarov said.

Head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov has compared this blockade with the Soviet-time animated film called The Italian Job, where the hero named Mario warns everybody that he is going to rob a bank and that he will give his debts as soon as he does it.

“The same is here. The leaders of Crimean Tatars just want to make it known to their creditors that they are doing something to destabilize the situation on the border with Crimea. All of our retailers already have contracts with Russian suppliers, with Ukrainian goods accounting for just 5% of our market. So, all this is like some comedy. We are amused and curious to see for how long they will stand there,” Aksyonov said.