Why Putin will fight for Kherson: Fresh water and land bridge to Crimea In 2018, Crimea was hit by a severe drought provoked by a lack of precipitation. Russian forces invading Ukraine said they had taken control of a vital canal to . Fallingoil prices, depreciation of the ruble, coronavirus all these will take a heavy toll on the Russian economy. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. In 2017, it shrunk down to 14 000 hectares. Now they are filled with water from rivers and wells. Lack of water takes a heavy toll on Crimeas ecosystem. The peninsula has 23 reservoirs, with 15 in-stream and 8 off-stream reservoirs. Within thelast 5 years, the cost of housing in the steppe areas fell down to $1.5 2 000 per house. Two days into Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February, Russian military forces blew up a dam that Ukraine had built to cut off Crimea's primary water supply. This year, Russia blew up the dam blocking the canal. The joint use of raid detachments and airborne troops in the Crimean direction ensured the exit of Russian troops to the city of Kherson, defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Thursday. On February 24, 2022, . Russia also needs water for its naval base, as well as to support thegrowing defense industryon the peninsula. Weaponizing Water: Damming the North Crimean Canal Water flows by gravity from Tavriisk to Dzhankoi, where it is elevated by four pump stations to a height of over 100m (330ft) to energize its continued downstream flow. In 2013, the industrial sector consumed around 12% of the water supply, in 2015 this number grew up to 50%. Ukraine blocked a freshwater to canal to the Crimean Peninsula after Russia occupied it 2014. A mysterious chemical-plant accident in the northern part of the peninsula in 2018 was blamed on the water crisis.