European route E97


European route E 97 is an A-class European Route in Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, and Turkey. The highway runs for in total. It connects the North Black Sea region with the South Black Sea region along the eastern shores of the sea.

Route description

The E97 starts in the Ukrainian city of Kherson and proceeds to the Georgian city of Poti, intersected by a number of European routes. From Khershon it proceeds along M17 (Ukraine)|M17]. The road soon passes into the territory of Crimea, where it runs from Dzhankoy – Feodosiya – Kerch, and is then interrupted by the Strait of Kerch. The road used the now discontinued Kerch Strait [ferry line] between Port Krym, Ukraine and Port Kavkaz, Russia, but in 2018 the Crimean Bridge opened connecting Crimea and Russia by road.
Since Annexation of [Crimea by the Russian Federation|2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia], a part of the road located on the peninsula is de facto operated by Russia, which designated that portion of the highway as two regional routes of the Republic of Crimea. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia took Russian annexation of Donetsk, [Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts|direct control] of areas of the road in Kherson Oblast.
In Russia, the E97 heads to Novorossiysk, along the M4 to Dzhubga and finally via the M27 motorway to resort city of Sochi, site of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Further south, the route proceeds through Georgia, passing through Sukhumi, Poti and Batumi before reaching the Turkish border. From there, it extends to Trabzon, Gümüşhane and Aşkale, where the E97 terminates. Between Trabzon and Poti, the E97 is concurrent with the easternmost segment of the European route E70.

Roads


Kerch Strait