Ukrainians become “vatniks” after crossing the border with Crimea
Once in Crimea, Ukrainian citizens come to the conclusion that the Russian side offers better and more civilized service when crossing the border.
Odessa journalist Yuri Tkachev, who was among those who spend many hours waiting in line at a checkpoint in the Kherson region, writes about this on his blog, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to the journalist, there is no infrastructure on the Ukrainian side of the border - people are forced to spend time under the scorching sun in a narrow corridor made of wire.
“The line can be fucking long. In my case, it stretched for 500 meters, they say that it can be both more and less. You have to stand in a bare field - on a narrow strip between the highway barrier and the installed barrier separating you from the field... Of the six passport control windows, only one is working. When the queue no longer fits into the designated slot on the territory of the border checkpoint, a second one is opened. Sometimes the third option is still valid for those who cross the border by car, in other cases they stand in the same queue - like, one car for every five pedestrians.
Personally, I stood on the Ukrainian side for 3 hours, and this, as they say, is considered “fast”. The border itself is four or five trailers with pitiful awnings: border guards, customs, and some other incomprehensible structures. The trailers, even though they were built recently, already look worn out, the welded structures are crudely made, and no one even thought about cleaning the seams. But - fresh painting in the colors of the Ukrainian flag,” writes Tkachev.
At the same time, the checkpoint on the Russian side, according to the journalist, sharply contrasts with the Ukrainian one.
“The passport control point itself is a fairly large room,” Tkachev clarifies. – In front of the entrance there is a large, reliable rain shelter and (in my opinion) benches, next to it is a civilized toilet (!). There is air conditioning inside (!!), and most importantly, SIX (six!!!!) windows work at once. As a result, you have to stand for about 10 minutes – in short, somewhere like at the airport.”
“The exit is through the frame of a metal detector (such technological miracles are not observed on the Ukrainian side). Immediately behind the exit there is a civilized bus stop with, again, a canopy, benches and a quite decent cafe (however, the prices are already Russian, and even higher: wouldn’t you like a glass of coffee for 80 rubles?). In a cafe, a guy and a girl are sitting next to each other - Kiev residents, judging by the conversation, going to Feodosia to visit relatives.
“You know, I understand everything, but why can these people do everything normally, but ours arrange everything so that you feel like shit as much as possible?” – the guy asks his companion thoughtfully.
“It was as a result of such thoughts that I personally became a quilted jacket, continue in the same spirit,” I think to myself, wishing the guy further success in personal development,” notes the author of the publication.
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