Home › Politics › Poland expels Russian woman over tension plot
Poland expels Russian woman over tension plot
Summary
A look back at the Polish detention of a Russian national, and the opening of the Kerch Strait Bridge road section two days earlier.
What happened on 17 May 2018, when Poland detained a Russian woman and sent her out of the country? Poland detained Yekaterina C., a Russian national, and expelled her. She was part of a pro-Russian group that sought to whip up tension between Poland and Ukraine.
The expulsion was a direct response to the activity of that group, which aimed at stirring up friction between two neighbours of Russia's western borderlands.
The Kerch Strait Bridge
Two days earlier, on 15 May 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the road section of the Kerch Strait Bridge. The 19-kilometre (12-mile) road-and-rail structure connects Crimea with Russia.
The opening came in the context of Russia's annexation of Crimea. In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine, occupied it, and then annexed it after an illegitimate referendum, amid the uncertainty that followed Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity.
Two events, one region
The two developments were separate. One was a bridge opening tied to the annexed peninsula; the other was a Polish security measure against a pro-Russian group. Both took place within the same three-day span in May 2018 and concerned Ukraine's relations with Russia and with its western neighbour.
