Access to Arabat Spit, which connects the eastern part of annexed Crimea to Kherson region, to be closed

Interfax reports that the operational headquarters of annexed Crimea has banned civilian passage to the Arabat arrow — a spit connecting the eastern part of the peninsula with the Kherson region.

Civilian passage will be prohibited starting at 20:00 on July 31. From that point on, only employees of emergency services and those performing works of “defense significance and emergency response” will be able to get to the spit.

According to the FSB, the restrictions will be imposed until the issuance of a special order and “are necessary to isolate security threats” to the population of Crimea, military, and other facilities on the territory of the peninsula.

The Arabat Arrow is a spit about 113 kilometers (about 70 miles) long and up to eight kilometers (five miles) wide in the northeastern part of Crimea. This stretch of land separates Sivash Bay from the Sea of Azov.