Ukraine leaves sabotaged power lines to Russian-annexed Crimea in mud

A view shows a damaged electrical pylon near the village of Chonhar in Kherson region, Ukraine, November 23, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

CHAPLINKA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Five days after saboteurs blew up power lines in southern Ukraine plunging Russian-annexed Crimea into an energy crisis, all four damaged pylons are out of action and engineers say they need a political decision to restore supplies.

The stalemate has left some 2 million Crimeans reliant upon emergency generators and has caused severe disruption, exposing how dependent Crimea remains on Ukraine a year and a half after it broke away to join Russia.