SIMFEROPOL, September 21. /TASS/. Trucks are not allowed through from Ukraine to Crimea at all three checkpoints, the Federal Security Service’s Crimea border department told TASS on Monday.
"Trucks are not going through from Ukraine at the moment. People and passenger transport goes through in the routine mode. Russian checkpoints are ready to accept both people and cargoes in the routine mode," the department’s press service said.
The last checkpoint that allowed trucks through to Crimea was the Perekop border checkpoint (Chaplinka from the Ukrainian side). However, Ukraine blocked movement through this checkpoint last night.
On Sunday, activists led by Verkhovna Rada deputy Mustafa Dzhemilev, leader of Crimean Tatars in Ukraine Refat Chubarov and members of the Rights Sector organization prohibited in Russia launched Crimea’s food blockade, refusing to let trucks with cargoes through border checkpoints. At the moment, several hundreds of trucks are waiting in the line on the Ukrainian side.
Crimea’s head Sergey Aksyonov has compared Ukraine’s blockade of the peninsula with the comedy film because Ukrainian products make up no more than five percent of the market in this Russian region.
According to him, Ukrainian goods in Crimea will be fully replaced with Russian products in two weeks.
"Almost all retailer chains and entrepreneurs have made agreements with agriculture producers on the mainland. A total of 90% of goods at our markets now were produced in Russia. With this approach, there will be no Ukrainian products at all at shelves in supermarkets in two weeks," Aksyonov told Rossiya 24 TV channel.
He described the situation with Crimea’s food blockade "not critical." "In my view, it is directed, first of all, against Ukrainian residents. And Crimea will survive this," Aksyonov noted.
However, the Republic's head Sergey Aksyonov says he received information that there were attempts to extort money from truck drivers for allowing them to drive through without lines, without limitations.