Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Kryklyi has condemned the illegal launch of a rail link between the Russian Federation and the Russian-annexed Crimea.

The Ministry of Infrastructure announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.

According to the minister, the launch of passenger trains to the Crimea by the Russian Federation is another violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and international law by Russia.

“Forty-three hours on the road – defying common sense, Russia wants total influence on the people in the annexed Crimea – such a train is a purely ideological move. This is why it is so important for us to fight for every Ukrainian living in the annexed territory. We cannot allow the Ukrainians in the occupied territories to be isolated. That is why we built the Chonhar and Kalanchak crossings in a couple of months. We condemn the latest infrastructural attacks by the aggressor, and we will fight it in the international arena,” Kryklyi said.

As reported, a railroad bus carrying the president of the Russian Federation crossed the bridge across the Kerch Strait on December 23. The first passenger train traveled from Russia to the Crimea through the bridge on December 25.