Russian authorities today advised Russian tourists stranded in Crimea after an attack on the bridge linking the peninsula to Russia to return home via Ukrainian-occupied territory.

From the attack on the bridge, on the night of Sunday to Monday, two civilians who were in their car were killed and a minor was injured.

Commercial flights between Moscow and Crimea were suspended after the start of the offensive in Ukraine. Most Russian tourists go to the peninsula by road, from the Kerch bridge, which was partially destroyed today.

“I ask residents and visitors to the peninsula (…) to choose, for security reasons, an alternative land route through the new territories,” said the Russian governor of annexed Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, using Moscow’s terminology to refer to the occupied territories, in eastern Ukraine.

This route, 400 kilometers long, passes through some points where battles are taking place with the Ukrainian army, which is shelling Russian supply lines.

Russian television showed a map of the route, which passes through Melitopol, in the Zaporizhia region, and Mariupol, the large coastal city that was largely destroyed by shelling last spring. The route ends in Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia.

Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed governor of Kherson province, said curfew hours would be changed to allow drivers to pass through the area. He also promised that the Russian military would take care of their security. He warned, however, that there will be checkpoints to avoid any “sabotage”, but the formalities will be limited.

In neighboring Zaporizhia, one of the targets of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, governor-designate Yevgeny Balitsky assured that authorities would guarantee the safety of tourists.

Pro-Russian authorities in Crimea advised travelers to get “on the other side” of the military vehicles.

According to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, there are 50,000 tourists in Crimea. Most of them went by road from Russia, crossing the bridge that was destroyed today. The agency reported that cars have already started to form kilometers long queues.

Crimean authorities have assured drivers that the proposed road is passable. “It is a well-known road, in excellent condition, along the Sea of ​​Azov, with magnificent landscapes,” said the speaker of the Crimean parliament Vladimir Konstantinov. “We don’t see anything alarming,” he added.

Russian television broadcast footage of cars queuing and drivers determined to return home. “They told us: go! Everything will be fine, God willing,” said one man.

Others appear hesitant. “We’ll think about what to do,” one woman said on public television. “Should we continue our vacation or go to Melitopolis?” he wondered.