Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry intends to ask leaders of Ukraine and all competent ministries and agencies, including the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, to urgently react to the situation around construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait and send a note of protest to Russia.

The ministry's press service reported that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will be also notified, as Russia's steps to build the bridge across the Kerch Strait and its sealing off could cause large damage not only to navigation safety, but also to national security of Ukraine.

Deputy Infrastructure Minister Yuriy Lavreniuk said at a meeting devoted to the situation around the Kerch Strait, now Russia in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the agreement on cooperation in the use of Azov Sea and Kerch Strait signed by Ukraine and Russia and some other international agreements and documents, is building the arch of the bridge across the Kerch Strait.

"Russia has not arranged the approval of its steps with Ukraine," he said.

Lavreniuk said that the Transport Ministry of Russia has designed a draft order on sealing off the Kerch Strait for 23 days in August-September 2017. Russia explains the ban from passing the strait by construction of the arch of the bridge.

In May 2017, a criminal case against violation of environment safety rules during construction of the bridge across the Kerch Strait bounding the territory of Russia and occupied Crimean peninsula was opened.