Special return route: Russian authorities advise Crimean tourists to drive through Ukraine “A matter of life and death” – that’s what the failed grain deal means for the world

Following the attack on the Crimean bridge, Russian authorities have advised tourists from Russia trapped on the occupied peninsula to return home through the Moscow-occupied territories of Ukraine. “I ask the inhabitants and guests of the peninsula not to travel over the Crimean bridge for security reasons and to choose an alternative land route through the new regions for security reasons,” Moscow-appointed Crimea governor Sergei Aksyonov said on Monday.

The Kerch Strait Bridge is the main road and rail link between mainland Russia and the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula in Ukraine. She was attacked Monday night. After that, traffic on the bridge, which most Russian tourists use to travel to the peninsula annexed by Russia, was suspended. Passenger flights to Crimea were suspended after the start of the offensive in Ukraine.

Amid increasing traffic congestion due to the closed bridge, authorities proposed that returning Russians take a 400-kilometer route through Russian military-controlled areas of Ukraine. These are partly influenced by battles.

Russian state television showed a map of the route that runs 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 must bring their passport. The state news agency Ria Nowosti estimated the number of tourists on the Crimean peninsula at about 50,000; most had traveled by car.

Russian officials in occupied Ukraine said they were easing curfews to allow tourists through. The Russian military will tighten security, it said.

“Security is guaranteed by the Russian army” and will be strengthened, said Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-appointed governor of the Kherson region. He “minimized” the curfew to allow through traffic. At the same time, Saldo warned that there were checkpoints to prevent “sabotage”.

Russian governor of the neighboring Zaporizhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, said authorities would ensure safety on the roads. The Ukrainian counter-offensive is mainly aimed at Zaporizhia.

The Ministry of Transport of Crimea has published a checklist of things tourists should pay attention to while on the road. “Make room for army vehicles and columns,” it says. It is also recommended to carry cash with you.

Russian television released images of the long lines of tourists, some of whom were hesitant to take the proposed route. “We are thinking about what to do,” said one woman. “Back on vacation or to Melitopol?” Melitopol fell to Russian forces early in the offensive and is regularly the target of attacks.

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