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. The road soon passes into the territory of
Crimea (
annexed by Russia), 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 (
A290). Since
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
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 ==