REUTERS

The EU ambassadors have agreed on expansion of the sanctions list against Russia over the construction of the Kerch bridge, says Brussels-based RFE/RL journalist Rikard Jozwiak.

"Eu ambassadors have green lighted sanctions against 2 people and 4 companies responsible for the construction of the Kerch bridge. Will be formalised later this week," he tweeted on September 28, 2020.

Background

  • On May 15, 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the motorway part of the Kerch Strait Bridge. He announced the need to build a transport passage across the Kerch Strait immediately after the start of the Russian occupation of Ukraine's Crimea in March 2014.
  • The construction of the bridge affected the operations of Ukrainian ports in Mariupol and Berdyansk (both in the Sea of Azov) since not all ships navigating there are able to pass under the bridge.
  • The 19km-long bridge connects the occupied peninsula and Russia's Krasnodar Krai.
  • On December 23, 2019, Putin took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to launch a rail link across the bridge between the Taman Peninsula and occupied Crimea.
  • The EU called this step another violation of Ukraine's sovereignty. In addition, officials in Brussels said the bridge limits ship navigation through the Kerch Strait to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov.
  • On September 9, 2020, First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzheppar said Kyiv expects the expansion of restrictive measures over the illegal construction of the Kerch bridge.