Ukraine has called on the Hague tribunal to force Russia to demolish the Kerch Bridge, illegally built after the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
At the presentation Deputy Agent of Ukraine Oksana Zolotareva spoke in the Arbitration Court on the position of Kyiv on the rights of Ukraine as a coastal state in the Black and Azov Seas and the Kerch Strait.
The Kerch Bridge — Ukraine's Position in The Hague
She noted that the construction of the bridge across the Kerch Strait was carried out in violation of international laws and with the use of manipulation.
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— It was Russia that cut off the Crimean peninsula from mainland Ukraine and thus severed hundreds of thousands of family ties, deprived the residents of Crimea of a future and created a territory of despair and despondency out of Crimea. It is ironic, and even cynical, to hear how Russia, in its speeches before this esteemed Tribunal, claims that someone else, and not Russia itself, is to blame for the suffering of Ukrainians in Crimea.
Moscow claims that the pretext for building the so-called Kerch Bridge was the so-called blockade. But the real blockade is the one that is not considered by this Tribunal – Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports in 2022, which has caused a global food crisis, Zolotareva said.
She stressed that the real goal of this crossing is to turn the Azov Sea into a closed Russian lake.
The Foreign Ministry representative added that the dismantling of the bridge, as requested by Ukraine, is extremely important for the Black and Azov Seas and the Kerch Strait.
— Dismantling the bridge is the only way to restore passage for ships from all countries that have used the strait in the past and for ships that will use the strait in the future. Russia illegally built this bridge, and now it must remove it to ensure passage through the Kerch Strait in accordance with international law, Zolotareva summed up, speaking in The Hague.
