Tourism Amidst Conflict: Crimean Beaches Under Fire

Tourists visiting the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula are now sharing beaches with bomb shelters and sandbags due to the ongoing conflict. Recent missile fragments killed four people on a beach in Sevastopol. The presence of bomb shelters is seen as necessary by many visitors, despite the unsettling atmosphere.

Tourists thronging the Black Sea beaches of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula this summer share the space with a new, grim addition: bomb shelters and sandbags. For more than two years, these beaches have been dangerously close to the raging battles of the war in Ukraine.

In a tragic turn last month, fragments from Ukrainian missiles claimed the lives of four, including two children, on a beach in Sevastopol, leaving 151 injured. Russian state television footage showed some victims being carried away on sun loungers. Since the onset of this over two-year-old conflict, thousands of Ukrainian civilians have perished, with casualties also in Russian-claimed territories like Crimea.

In Uchuyevka's beachfront near Sevastopol, a concrete bomb shelter fortified with sandbags now coexists with beachgoers. Irina, a tourist from Belarus, remarked, "In my opinion, the bomb shelters are necessary." Despite the dangers, Russian tourists like Alexander Zhukovskiy continue to visit, finding solace in the added protection.

(With inputs from agencies.)