Ukrainian and Crimean Tatars launch trade blockade of Crimea

Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar activists launched on Sept. 20 a blockade of contraband entering Crimea from the Ukrainian main land. Several hundred activists, including volunteer fighters of the Right Sector paramilitary group, gathered at the Chonhar border crossing in the Kherson region to set up a network of roadblocks and tents to physically prevent trucks with goods from entering the peninsula. They blocked the three roads that connect the Crimean peninsula with the Ukrainian mainland.

The purpose of the blockade is to prevent the Crimean occupying government from profiting off contraband entering the peninsula, said on Sept. 20 Refat Chubarov, the lead of the Crimean Mejlis. The apparent trade between Crimea and Ukraine reached USD 475 mln in the first five months of this year, he said. “That’s only the part that we see,” he said. “Money is circulating between the oligarchs here (in Kherson) and (Sergey) Aksyonov and his bandits there to pay off searches and conducts pogroms in the homes of Crimea Tatars.” Such blockades will make it difficult for the occupation of Crimea to continue, he said.

Zenon Zawada: On the one hand, it’s a shame that the Ukrainian government is failing to uphold its own laws restricting trade with the Crimean peninsula. And it’s also a shame that the Crimean residents are suffering as a result, whether through higher consumer prices or political persecution. At the same time, there’s actually a strategy reason behind such a policy, which isn’t merely limited to seeking profit.

For months, observers were concerned that the Russian military would occupy more Ukrainian land to establish a land bridge between Donbas and Crimea, which is geographically isolated from Russia. Among the reasons that hasn’t happened is because trade is occurring rather freely into Crimea, despite driving up consumer costs. Restricting this trade could cause the Russians to review the need for a geographical link to Crimea. So the blockade’s organizers should be prepared for the consequences if their campaign gains success. In a very difficult situation, the status quo has kept keeping the peace, despite the byproduct of corruption.