Ukraine has cut off electricity to the Crimean peninsula for the second time this week, a move that comes several months after Russia annexed the peninsula from its neighbor.
Ukraine also suspended train and bus services to Crimea on Friday, the Associated Press reported. State rail company Ukrzaliznytsia said the service cut affects trains headed for the peninsula's regional capital of Simferopol and Sevastopol port.
The rail company said the service termination was "to ensure the safety of passengers," according to the Wall Street Journal. The suspension in bus services was also to protect passengers amid threats from "armed groups, extremist parties and the military aggression of the Russian federation," Ukrainian security officials said.
Ukraine been through months of political and social unrest since Russia annexed Crimea in March, an act that came after Ukraine's former Russian-backed president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted due to mass protests.
A rebel uprising of pro-Russian separatists followed the annexation, which the United Nations said in November has killed over 4,000 people.
Ukraine, the U.S. and European Union have repeatedly accused Russia of supporting and funding the separatists. Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations.
Now, with a shaky September cease-fire in place between the rebels and Ukraine, both sides began negotiations this week to end the insurgency. But the talks that took place in Minsk, Belarus, did nothing more than secure a prisoner swap between Ukrainian officials and the separatists, the WSJ reported.
Meanwhile, Russia has urged officials in Ukraine's capital Kiev to negotiate with the insurgents.
If the Crimean situation continues, the peninsula's economy- already suffering from U.S. imposed sanctions- could spiral into further turmoil.
