2023-07-17 22:26:13
Montag, 17.07.2023, 22:26
Russian President Vladimir Putin announces retaliation for the attack on the Crimean bridge. Ukraine is responsible for the crime. The Department of Defense is preparing proposals for a response. Putin spoke of a senseless and cruel act by the government in Kiev. Meanwhile, Russian tourists stranded in Crimea have been advised to drive back home through Moscow-held areas of Ukraine.
According to the Russian government, car traffic was resumed on Tuesday night with restrictions. According to Russian agencies, only one of the two lanes will be used, said Deputy Prime Minister Marat Chusnullin. Moscow-appointed Crimean governor Sergey Aksyonov advised against traveling across the Crimea Bridge on Monday. Guests and residents of the peninsula should choose alternative routes across the country.
The Kerch Strait Bridge is the main road and rail link between mainland Russia and Crimea. She had been attacked on Monday 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. Faced with 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.
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 Novosti 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.
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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.
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