Major challenge for Putin as Russia looks to resolve water crisis in Crimea – Russia A water emergency in Crimea is absorbing billions of taxpayer rubles as Russia tries to patch up an impossible problem stemming from the peninsulaâs annexation in 2014. President Vladimir Putinâs Black Sea gem looks increasingly like a millstone. Ukraine dammed the North Crimean Canal seven years ago, cutting off the source of nearly 90% of the regionâs fresh water and setting it back to the pre-1960s, when much was arid steppe. Add a severe drought and sizzling temperatures last year, plus years of underinvestment in pipes and drilling, and fields are [âŠ] Major challenge for Putin as Russia looks to resolve water crisis in Crimea – RussiaHIWI042021-03-19T12:23:37+01:00