(MENAFN- QNA) Ukraine has suspended all rail services to Crimea, which integrated into the Russian Federation earlier this year, over what it called security concerns.
Ukraine’s state railway operator made the announcement on Friday, refusing to explain what dangers its trains could face in the Black Sea territory.
The move came more than a week after Russia decided to stop its own train services to Crimea because of low ticket demand.
Now, most of the residents of the region, which is home 2.3 million people, will only be able to get to Ukraine by car or cross into Russia to the east via a ferry service.
Some Russian carriers, meanwhile, go on with operating regular and charter flights to Crimea’s central city, Simferopol. However, those operators have been targeted by the EU sanctions which deprive them of aircraft insurance and service contracts.
Crimea declared independence from Ukraine on March 17 and formally applied to become part of Russia following a referendum a day earlier in which 96.8 percent of the participants voted in favor of the secession. The voter turnout in the referendum stood at 83.1 percent.
The reunification fuelled pro-Russian protests in the eastern regions of Ukraine. The Western-backed Kiev government launched military operations in mid-April to silence the protests.
Violence intensified in May after the eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.
The EU has already imposed a number of sanctions against Crimean, Russian and pro-Russia figures following Crimea's decision to join Russia.
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