Upon entering the Kerch (Crimean) Bridge from the side of Krasnodar Krai, Russia, a comprehensive passport control has been implemented. This was announced on Tuesday, January 28, by Alexander Ovdiienko, the Russian Minister of Transport of the temporarily occupied Crimea, as reported by
Crimea Realities. According to him, the reasons for this decision include a presidential decree from the Russian Federation regarding the introduction of an elevated response level in Crimea and Krasnodar Krai, as well as a resolution from the Anti-Terrorist Commission of the Temryuk District and an order from the head of Krasnodar Krai about the indefinite implementation of a "yellow" level of terrorist threat in the region, the Temryuk District, and the Kerch Bridge. Ovdiienko urged those planning to cross the bridge to carry original documents for a quicker manual inspection. It is known that in October 2022, Ukrainian forces attacked the Kerch Bridge for the first time using improvised explosive devices. Earlier, the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that the illegally constructed Kerch Bridge by Russia is
still not destroyed due to the prioritization of targets and certain measures being taken by the adversary. In the temporarily occupied Crimea, in the waters of the Kerch shipbuilding plant, the Russians are
installing barriers for protection against Ukrainian naval drones.