Talking to Sputnik, Crimean Parliament Speaker Vladimir Konstantinov declared that the total amount of damage caused to Crimea by the water blockade imposed by Ukraine has already exceeded 4 trillion rubles ($41 billion). 

"The sum is already growing. In early October, a meeting of the Public Chamber of Crimea will be held to consider the preparation of a lawsuit by the Crimean population [against Ukraine]. The lawsuit's sum amounts to 3 trillion rubles. This brings the total amount of our claims to 4 trillion rubles, with work still underway," he said.  

This week, the Crimean Arbitration Court launched a substantive review of the first lawsuit on the damage that was imposed by Ukraine back in 2014, which is currently being reviewed without the press presence. The initial amount of the claims against Ukraine reached over 152 billion rubles ($1.6 billion).

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Simultaneously, recreational, industrial, and agricultural entities are expected to join the lawsuit, which would add to the damage count.

Back in 2014, Ukraine cut off the Dnieper water supply to Crimea after disagreeing with its accession to Russia after a referendum on the region's status. However, when the Russian military operation began in Ukraine last year, the Russian forces unblocked the canal by removing a dam.  

That was still short-lived after the supply was cut again in June this year as a result of the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.  

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The Kakhovka dam, 30 meters (yards) tall and 3.2 km (2 miles) long, was built in 1956 on the Dnipro River as part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. It holds an 18 km3 reservoir which also supplies water to the Crimean peninsula and to the zaporozhihia nuclear plant.