Crimea: Daily Life Amid Ongoing Challenges

The war is having an increasingly severe impact on the lives of people in Crimea, 24KZ reports. Russian media report that living conditions for local residents continue to deteriorate amid ongoing military operations. Electricity and water supplies remain unstable. Businesses are operating with the help of generators, while field kitchens have been set up to assist those in need.

Power and water outages have become a part of everyday life, Crimean residents say. According to Russia-1 correspondent Elena Yerofeyeva, the peninsula is facing a difficult situation after energy infrastructure was damaged during the fighting. A state of emergency has been declared, and railway services have also been disrupted.

Residents are forced to store drinking water, while meals are prepared over open fires and gas burners. Generators and solar panels are helping people stay connected by allowing them to charge their mobile phones. Local residents are collecting aid for those most in need. Field kitchens and tanks of boiled drinking water have been set up throughout the streets.

• Since our substation was hit on the night of the 21st to the 22nd, we haven't had electricity.
• Not even for an hour?
• Not for an hour. Not even for a minute.

Electricity has become a shared community resource. Crimean residents have now spent a second week without electricity or hot meals. Water is boiled only here-in a mobile tank. Boiling water is poured into thermoses and distributed to local residents.

K. TOKAYEV CALLS ON MOSCOW AND KYIV TO RETURN TO THE NEGOTIATING TABLE

Overcoming the crisis facing the people of Crimea is directly linked to finding a political solution. Calls for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy are becoming increasingly frequent on the international stage.

At a recent meeting in Omsk, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed considering a freeze in hostilities and a return to negotiations.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

- I decided to express my humble opinion today because people knew that I had planned to be in Omsk and were aware of our meeting. No one knows how to resolve this situation because each side has its own position. At the same time, there is an opportunity to freeze the conflict. This is a well-established approach in international practice. It is heartbreaking that young people continue to lose their lives. They are the gene pool of the brotherly peoples of Russia and Ukraine. All of this must be stopped because, in my firm conviction, what is happening serves only the interests of those who wish harm to both Russia and the Ukrainian state.

As Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted, the parties should return to negotiations in the Istanbul format. According to the President of Kazakhstan, this mechanism of political dialogue has already proven its effectiveness and could serve as the foundation for a future peaceful settlement.