Ukraine's state rail company Ukrzaliznytsia said on Friday it would suspend passenger and cargo train services to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Russia in March, due to security concerns.

"In order to ensure the safety of passengers ... [the railway] will cut the route of trains to Crimea off at Novooleksiyvka and Kherson," it said in a statement, referring to two towns on the Ukrainian mainland near Crimea.