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Holiday Makers at Boiling Point Over Ukraine's Crimea Border Block

© Sputnik / Konstantin Chalabov / Go to the mediabankWould-be vacationers from Ukraine attempting to come to Crimea for the May holidays are becoming more and more aggravated over increased wait times caused by Ukrainian border control services' strengthening of the border, Ukrainian news hub Vesti reports.
Would-be vacationers from Ukraine attempting to come to Crimea for the May holidays are becoming more and more aggravated over increased wait times caused by Ukrainian border control services' strengthening of the border, Ukrainian news hub Vesti reports. - Sputnik International
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Would-be vacationers from Ukraine attempting to come to Crimea for the May holidays are becoming more and more aggravated over increased wait times caused by Ukrainian border control services' strengthening of the border, Ukrainian media has reported.

On Wednesday, several hundred people gathered at the border control post 'Chongar', Vesti reporting that vacationers were close to starting a riot after being unable to pass even the checkpoint on the Ukrainian side for over four hours.

A would-be vacationer named Andrei told Vesti:

"We were not allowed to make it even to the checkpoint. They tell us different things: either that the database has crashed, or that there has been a shift change. Cars are coming through, but people are standing still. There are 200 people waiting here."

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Ukrainian media have reported that border control will be strengthened over the next two weeks in connection with the May holidays (traditionally celebrated between May 1, Labor Day, and May 9, Victory Day). Border Services representative Oleg Slobodyan told media that "additional temporary restrictions will be introduced on the Ukrainian-Russian border, and on the administrative border with the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea." Authorities have rushed in units from other ministries, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Guard and the army, to shore up security.

As a result of the measures, people now face a 4-6 hour wait time at the Ukrainian-Russian border in Crimea, and sometimes even longer.

"The border between Materik-Crimea; arriving at 5 in the morning, we passed at 5pm. It took us exactly 12 hours to make it through."

Automobiles, But Not Trains or Planes

In the midst of Ukraine's political crisis with Russia, people have been looking for new ways to get to the Crimean peninsula, despite increased expenses and the cutting off of train and passenger air service from inside Ukraine.

Newspapers and social media groups have offered complex schemes by bus, taxi and private minibuses, the latter growing up around cities and villages bordering Crimea. Experts suggest taking trains and buses to southern population centers, before getting on taxis and minibuses to go the rest of the way, making it across the border on foot (which usually takes only 20-40 minutes). On the Crimean side, visitors are told to get on minibus routes organized to accommodate them and to take them to their destinations.

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Some even suggest traveling from Ukraine to Moscow, Russia, which has passenger plane routes with Simferopol, Central Crimea. But this form of travel is expensive. Amidst the economic crisis, social media groups have been popping up looking for the best ways to get to Crimea on the cheap. Would-be vacationers traveling by bus have recently been hit with problems in getting bus tickets, which are becoming harder to come by as demand grows due to reduced car use.

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