Electricity cut off at Russian air base in Kyrgyzstan

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For more than three days, Russian Kant air base has been cut off from electricity. As a REGNUM correspondent is told at the Kyrgyz Defense Ministry today, the reason is debt of the airbase to local energy suppliers.

Apart from the airbase, depots of the Kyrgyz Defense Ministry located near Kant were also left without electricity. According to the press office, their bills for the electricity must be paid by the republic’s finance ministry, as Kyrgyzstan, being a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization must pay all the communal fees, communication and energy bills of the Russian air base.

As the defense ministry’s press office says, functioning of canteens and laundries is suspended at strategic military facilities, guarding perimeter of the territory is hampered.

The Kant air base was opened on October 23, 2003, and is a part of the aviation component of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the CSTO in the Central-Asian area. Now, over 500 Russian soldiers and officers and Mi8 helicopters are deployed there.

Kant Airdrome is one of the two grounds in Kyrgyzstan fit for deploying war planes. The second one, Manas International Airport – is already occupied by a US air base.