Russia has strengthened the defense of the Crimean Bridge in occupied Crimea by building a multi-level defense zone around the facility. Footage of the new fortifications was published on October 4 by the Exilenova+ Telegram channel, UNIAN reported. The information has not been officially confirmed by the Russian authorities.
According to data cited by the Ukrainian media, the defense includes several lines of facilities designed to shield the bridge from possible attacks by surface and underwater drones. The main task of the fortifications is to protect the vulnerable elements of the strategic facility.
The water area around the bridge is also patrolled by ships of the Russian Federal Security Service. The construction of the defensive zone shows that Russian forces are preparing for possible attacks on the facility, which Moscow uses as a key link to the occupied peninsula.
Pletenchuk: No equipment and fuel are being transported across the bridge
The spokesman for the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Dmitry Pletenchuk, stated that Russian forces do not risk transporting military equipment and fuel across the Crimean Bridge. According to him, the facility is used by road transport, but its volume is not sufficient to cover all the needs of Russian troops in Crimea and in the southern direction.
“This looks like a challenge“, says Pletenchuk regarding the Russian attacks on bridges in Kiev against the backdrop of possible attacks on the Crimean Bridge.According to him, such operations are prepared for a long time and in a complex manner, and the Ukrainian forces are not striving for symbolic actions, but for military expediency. His statement was made against the backdrop of the Russian attacks on bridge infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital.
Denysenko admits to an “experiment” with the bridges in Kiev
Political scientist Vadim Denisenko admits that the attacks on the Southern Bridge in Kiev may be related to an attempt to check whether the facility can be damaged to the point of stopping functioning. He links this possibility to a period in which Ukraine still does not have full protection against Shahed jet drones.
According to Denisenko, targeted strikes on one point could theoretically yield results. Therefore, according to him, Russian forces have begun a kind of "experiment" with the bridges.
Against this background, the Crimean Bridge remains both a logistical route and a symbolic object for Russia. The new defensive lines and patrols in the water area are presented as measures against possible attacks, but there is no public confirmation of a specific immediate threat or of a strike on the bridge.
Sources: UNIAN