Russians issue swimming ban
Ukraine: Crimean occupiers close beaches
04/13/2023, 10:50 am
For months, Russian troops have been building fortifications in Crimea to ward off a possible counter-offensive by Ukraine. In the west of the peninsula, the occupiers are now closing beaches and imposing a bathing ban.
According to the Ukrainian state agency, Russian occupation authorities in the west of the Crimean peninsula have Ukrinform decided to “cancel” this year’s bathing season and close beaches on the peninsula. According to the information, the Russian authorities in the coastal villages of Shtormove and Popivka have banned swimming in the Black Sea. Swimming in the lake Donuslaw is also forbidden. The decision was taken by the administration of the Shtormovskoye settlement in the Saki district.
Fearing a Ukrainian counter-offensive, Russian troops have been building defensive positions in Crimea for months. As satellite images show, trenches and anti-tank barriers are also being built along coastal sections. Since the liberation of the city of Kherson by Ukrainian troops last November, the front line along the Dnipro River is just over 60 kilometers as the crow flies from Crimea. This puts the peninsula’s northern isthmus within range of US HIMARS missile launchers.
Before the war of aggression against Ukraine, occupied Crimea was one of the most popular holiday destinations for Russians. But as early as 2022, significantly fewer vacationers came to the peninsula, whose most important source of income is tourism. Crimea has been the target of multiple attacks in the past year. In October, the bridge near Kerch was badly damaged by a bomb explosion. In addition, the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol and several Russian military bases came under fire.
In the summer, the Russian head of administration of Sevastopol, Mikhail Rasvozhayev, warned vacationers not to share photos and videos of military positions on the Internet. Shortly before, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense mockingly thanked a vacationer from Crimea on Twitter who had revealed the position of a Russian anti-aircraft defense position through his photo. Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Moscow has regarded the peninsula as Russian territory, which is not recognized internationally. Kiev has announced that it wants to recapture Crimea.