The Kerch Strait links the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov and lies between the Kerch Peninsula and Russia’s Taman Peninsula.
The strait is about 40 kilometres long and ranges from roughly 4 to 15 kilometres wide. The Crimean city of Kerch stands near its western side, while the Taman Peninsula forms the eastern shore.
In antiquity, the waterway was known as the Cimmerian Bosporus. It has long been important for movement between the Black Sea and the shallow Sea of Azov, whose northern and eastern shores include Ukraine and Russia.
The Kerch Strait is distinct from the Bosphorus, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul. A bridge across the Kerch Strait opened in stages in 2018 and 2019, carrying road and rail traffic.