Border checkpoints between Crimea, Ukraine in full use

MOSCOW, June 23 (UPI) -- Twelve checkpoints between Ukraine and Crimea, the former Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia, are now operational, the Russian government said Tuesday.

"All checkpoints in the Crimean Federal District are operating at full capacity," Konstantin Busygin, chief of Rosgranitsa, the Federal Agency for the Development of State Border Infrastructure announced.

The use of the checkpoints – three for vehicles, three for trains, one air checkpoint and five for maritime passage – indicate Russia is proceeding in its plans, within a framework of development scheduled until 2020, to further integrate Crimea into the Russia economy. Three more vehicle checkpoints on the Ukraine-Crimea border are scheduled to go into use in 2018.

A March 2014 referendum in Crimea overwhelmingly approved Crimea's incorporation into Russia, despite Ukraine's sovereignty over the region. Ukraine and Western nations have not recognized the action or the legitimacy of the vote.

While Russia remains a target of economic sanctions by the United States and the European Union (EU), special sanctions apply to Crimea. Last week the Council of the EU extended restrictions on importation of Crimean products, as well as investment in Crimea and its largest city, Sevastapol. Exports to Crimea, such as equipment used in the oil and mineral sectors, are barred. The sanctions also include tourism, prohibiting cruise ships from arriving in ports on the Crimean peninsula.