Analytical Guidance: Crimea Loses Its Electricity

Crimea is in the midst of an energy crisis after electricity links from mainland Ukraine to the peninsula were cut over the weekend of Nov. 20-22. It is unclear who attacked the electricity service, although it appears that Ukrainian security forces would not have prevented Crimean Tatar activists who had been protesting (and continue to protest) near the transmission towers from sabotaging the infrastructure. The crisis could be a message from Ukraine that it has leverage against Russia, though sending a message this way risks escalation....