Long traffic jam in front of Kerch Bridge
Despite the war, Russians are drawn to Crimea
7/3/2023 11:47 am
The tense security situation in occupied Crimea is apparently not stopping the Russians from vacationing there. A traffic jam of around 13 kilometers has formed in front of the Kerch Bridge, which connects the peninsula with the Russian mainland.
Despite the tense security situation, Russian holidaymakers are apparently once again flocking to Crimea, the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula occupied by Moscow. According to the Interfax news agency, there was a traffic jam of around 13 kilometers from the Russian side in front of the access to the Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea with the Russian mainland. Rescue workers, volunteers and administrative staff distributed water to people waiting in the vehicles, it said.
The peninsula can only be reached by train or car for holidaymakers. Air traffic has been suspended because of the war of aggression that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for a good 16 months. Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014. The Crimea was already a popular resort in the times of the Soviet Union. Because of the sanctions imposed as a result of the Ukraine war, Russian citizens can now only go on vacation in western countries to a limited extent.
The approximately 19-kilometer-long Kerch Bridge to Crimea was severely damaged in an explosion in October 2022, but has been repaired. At the end of May, the Ukrainian secret service admitted involvement in the explosion for the first time. The bridge is also considered an important supply route for Russian troops. There are repeated drone attacks by the Ukrainian side on the peninsula.
Kiev has announced that it wants to recapture Crimea. On Monday, the Russian secret service FSB announced that a Russian citizen allegedly recruited by the Ukrainian secret service had been arrested. He is said to have planned an attack on the Crimean governor Sergey Aksyonov, who was appointed by Moscow. The report could not be checked independently.