Train reaches Crimea from southern Ukraine

• Russia restores railway links between annexed Crimea and southern Ukraine.
• Moscow-backed official says a train carrying grain has arrived in Crimea from Melitopol.
• Russian Railways restored about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) of track in southeastern Ukraine.

According to a Moscow-backed official, Russia has restored railway links between the occupied Crimean Peninsula and southern Ukraine.
A train carrying grain landed in Crimea from Ukraine’s Russian-occupied southern city of Melitopol, according to Oleg Kriuchkov; an adviser to the Moscow-installed president of Crimea. This is the first such journey since the peninsula was seized by Russian forces in early 2014.

Read More: Ukraine will not give up on Crimea or Donbas, says a member of parliament to German media
His comments came after Russia’s defence minister announced that the country’s military had restored about 1,200 kilometres (745 miles) of train track in southeastern Ukraine; and opened roads to allow “full-fledged traffic” to flow between Russia; the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, occupied territory in the country’s south, and Crimea.

Read More: After 78 years of mass deportation, Russia is repeating Soviet policy toward Crimean Tatars