Recommendation of Russian authorities
Crimean tourists are said to travel back through contested areas
07/17/2023, 8:10 p.m
The attack on the Kerch Bridge has made it difficult for Russian vacationers to travel home from Crimea. Governors are now advising them to return home through Ukrainian territory. The proposal is met with skepticism by those affected, as battles are raging in some of the occupied regions.
After the attack on the Crimean bridge, Russian authorities have advised tourists from Russia stuck in the occupied peninsula to return home through the Moscow-held areas of Ukraine. “I ask the residents and guests of the peninsula to refrain from traveling across the Crimea Bridge and to choose an alternative overland route through the new regions for safety reasons,” said Moscow-appointed Governor of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov.
The Kerch Strait Bridge is the main road and rail link between mainland Russia and the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula in Ukraine. She had been attacked during the night. After that, traffic on the bridge, which most Russian tourists use to travel to the Russian-annexed peninsula, was suspended. Passenger flights to Crimea were suspended after the start of the offensive in Ukraine.
Amid increasing traffic jams due to the closed bridge, authorities suggested returning Russians should take a 400-kilometer route through Russian army-controlled areas of Ukraine. These are partly affected by battles.
Most of the 50,000 tourists came by car
Russian state television showed a map of the route that goes through the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol to the largely destroyed port city of Mariupol and ends in the southern Russian city of Rostov. Travelers should take their passports with them. The state news agency Ria Nowosti put the number of tourists on the Crimean Peninsula at around 50,000; most of them had traveled by car.
Russian officials in occupied Ukraine said they were reducing curfews to allow tourists to pass through. The Russian army will tighten security, it said. “Security is guaranteed by the Russian army” and will be reinforced, explained Vladimir Saldo, the governor of the Kherson region appointed by Moscow. He “minimized” the curfews to allow through traffic. At the same time, Saldo warned that there were checkpoints to prevent “sabotage”.
The Russian governor of the neighboring Zaporizhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, said the authorities would ensure safety on the roads. The Ukrainian counter-offensive is particularly targeting Zaporizhia. Crimea’s Ministry of Transport published a checklist of things tourists should be aware of on the route. “Make room for army vehicles and columns,” it says. It is also advised to carry cash with you.
Russian television released footage of the long queues of tourists, some of whom were reluctant to take the proposed route. “We’re considering what to do,” said one woman. “Back on vacation or go to Melitopol?” Melitopol fell to Russian troops early in the offensive and is regularly the target of attacks.