Russian authorities in Crimea ban civilian access to Arabat Spit

Russia’s authorities in the annexed Crimea have announced banning civilians from accessing the Arabat Spit, a long strip of land connecting east Crimea with the Kherson region, Interfax cites the local FSB department.

The access will be restricted starting 31 July until further notice. Only emergency services and people connected with defence or first responders will be allowed to enter.

“Starting 20:00 on 31 July, in accordance with the decision of the Republic of Crimea operational headquarters, chaired by governor Sergey Aksyonov, the access to the Arabat Spit will be prohibited for civilians, ”the FSB said in a statement.

The restrictions are being introduced until further notice and are “necessary to localise security threats” to the population of Crimea, as well as military and other facilities on the territory of the republic, the agency said.

Last December, the Russian occupation “authorities” of the Kherson region announced their intention to build a city for 30,000 residents in the Arabat Spit. Russian President Vladimir Putin approved this decision. In February, it was revealed that a “government quarter” had already been finished in the new city.

The US believes that the main thrust of Ukraine’s counteroffensive is now underway, as per The New York Times citing anonymous officials. The new operation, if successful, could take one to three weeks, Ukrainian officials have told officials in Washington. The US-based Institute for the Study of War also reckons a new stage of Ukraine’s counteroffensive has begun.