Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed head of Crimea, said that from June 22 to September 1 booking places and admitting children’s groups to camps on the peninsula is prohibited. He said the restrictions were necessary “to ensure public safety.”
Earlier, Ksenia Sobchak’s Telegram channel “Bloody Lady” reported problems with upcoming camp sessions, citing parents’ posts on social media. According to those reports, the children’s camp Artek canceled its nearest arrivals, and some children were not admitted.
“A new session was supposed to begin today. For no explained reason, Artek refused to admit some of the children, and the children have to spend the night in Kerch, in some college,” the mother of one child said.
Parents said a bus carrying children to the camp was turned back to Kerch without explanation. The channel also reported that some escorts and organizers were informed that parts of certain children’s groups might be sent back to their places of residence.
The mother of another child said her son was supposed to go to the Art-Kvest camp in Crimea, but they were told that this session would not be accepted either. At the same time, some parents said that certain children had already managed to arrive and were staying on camp grounds.
Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the head of Crimea, did not confirm or deny the reports overnight on June 22, saying only that the situation on the peninsula remained difficult and that corresponding measures were being taken.
Since late May, Crimea has also been facing a fuel crisis: according to the authorities, supply routes have been disrupted by Ukrainian drone attacks on fuel trucks and other cargo vehicles traveling along the R-280 Novorossiya highway. On the night of June 21, after a Ukrainian attack, part of the region lost power because of technological damage to the grid, and Sevastopol introduced scheduled temporary power cuts.