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☆ US F-16s could play a vital role in isolating Crimea and humiliating Putin, says defense analyst
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US F-16s will have a big impact in helping Ukraine reclaim Crimea, an analyst told BI. AdvertisementThe delivery of US-made F-16s could play a crucial role in Ukraine's attempts to take back occupied Crimea, a defense expert told Business Insider. In the latest blow on Monday, Ukraine used an exploding naval drone to destroy a Russian military speedboat in Crimea. Explosion causes fire at the Kerch bridge in the Kerch Strait, Crimea on October 08, 2022. There are signs that these attacks are forcing Russia to rethink its use of the peninsula and the Kerch bridge.

Persons: —, Ukraine's, Frederik Mertens, Mertens, Putin, Vera Katkova, Molfar Organizations: Service, Hague, Strategic Studies, Kharkiv, US, The New York Times, Army Tactical Missile Systems, Sea, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, AP, Fleet, Anadolu Agency, Getty Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, France, Romania, Kerch, Ukraine's, Russian, Russia, The, Sevastopol

☆ Putin's Crimea bridge has been out of military use for at least 3 months, satellite images suggest
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewRussia has all but stopped transporting military equipment via a strategic Crimean bridge, Ukrainian analysts say, based on satellite imagery. In an examination of Maxar satellite images by open-source intelligence agency Molfar, analysts said that between February and mid-April, they saw no Russian freight trains carrying military equipment on the Kerch Bridge. It also said it saw no trains carrying military equipment on the bridge between May and September 2023. Built in 2018 following President Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea, the bridge is considered an illegal construction by Ukraine. AdvertisementA potent symbolAn explosion causes fire at the Kerch bridge in the Kerch Strait, Crimea on October 08, 2022.

Persons: —, Molfar, Vasyl Malyuk, Vladimir Putin's, Kyrylo Budanov, Artem Starosiek, Vera Katkova, Starosiek, Putin, Oleksii Neizhpapa, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Inna Sovsun, Sovsun, Artem Organizations: Service, Business, Ukraine's Security Service, The Telegraph, Anadolu Agency, Getty Locations: Russia, Kerch, Ukraine, Crimea, Russia's Rostov, Ukrainian

☆ Russia Bombs Power Plants and Ukraine Targets Refineries in Dueling Attacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Marc Santora | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As Russian missiles streaked through the skies above Ukraine before dawn on Saturday, once again targeting the nation’s already battered energy grid in a broad and complex bombardment, Ukrainian drones were flying in the other direction, taking aim at vital oil and gas refineries and other targets inside Russia. The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defense teams had intercepted 21 of the 34 Russian cruise and ballistic missiles fired from land, air and sea-based systems, but the attack caused extensive damage to four thermal power plants and other critical parts of the power grid in three regions. Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it had shot down 66 Ukrainian drones over the Krasnodar region, which is just across the Kerch Strait in southern Russia, east of the occupied Crimean Peninsula. Veniamin Kondratyev, the head of the regional government, said the Ukrainians drones had targeted two oil refineries, a bitumen plant, and a military airfield in Kuban.

Persons: Veniamin Kondratyev Organizations: Russian, Ukrainian Air Force, Russia’s Ministry of Defense Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Krasnodar, Kerch, Crimean, Kuban

☆ Russia's hardliners are furious over its latest loss at sea, saying commanders would rather cover up mistakes than learn
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine has achieved a series of astonishing victories over Russia in the Black Sea. Ukrainian military intelligence said on Tuesday that it had scored another success in its campaign against Russia's much bigger Russian Black Sea fleet. The Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, said Russian military bloggers, who are often ultranationalists with close military links, are "decrying the Russian military command's lack of response to the incident and mounting a wider critique against the bureaucratic inertia of the Russian military apparatus." Military blogger Two majors said that commanders often try to place the blame elsewhere to cover up their mistakes. Ukraine has used ingenuity and improvisation to offset its disadvantages in the Black Sea, which Russia's navy has historically dominated.

Persons: —, Sergei Kotov, Dva Maiyora Organizations: Service, Directorate of Intelligence, Ministry of Defense, Telegram, Foreign Policy Research Institute Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Kerch, US, Rybar, Sevastopol, Crimea

☆ Ukraine’s drones sink another Russian warship, Kyiv says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Brad Lendon | Svitlana Vlasova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukraine’s military on Tuesday claimed another successful attack on a Russian warship, marking the latest in a string of naval defeats for Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet that Kyiv says has reduced its numbers by more than a third since the start of the war. “As a result of the strike by Magura V5 maritime drones, the Russian ship Project 22160 ‘Sergei Kotov’ sustained damage to the stern, starboard and port sides,” sparking a fire aboard the vessel, a statement said. In mid-February, the Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov was attacked with the same drones used against the Sergei Kotov. The drones punctured “critical holes” on the Russian ship’s left side before sinking it, Ukrainian military intelligence agency said on Telegram. The Sergei Kotov was one of Russia newest ships in the Black Sea Fleet.

Persons: CNN —, Moscow’s, Sergei Kotov, Sergei Kotov ’, Andriy Yusov, Caesar Kunikov Organizations: CNN, The Defense Intelligence, Magura, Russian, Ukrainian Navy, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital, Defense Intelligence, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Fleet, TASS Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Kerch, Crimea, Russia, Radio Free Europe

☆ Ukraine said it sank a $65 million warship that Russia planned to use for an antiaircraft missile system
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine said it destroyed another Russian ship in the Black Sea using sea drones. The Sergei Kotov patrol vessel, part of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, cost $65 million, Ukraine said. AdvertisementUkrainian military intelligence said a $65 million Russian warship was the latest to be sunk in the Black Sea. It added that a Ukrainian special unit attacked the Black Sea Fleet vessel in cooperation with Ukraine's navy and the Ministry of Digital Transformation. In December, the UK's defense minister said that "over the past 4 months 20% of Russia's Black Sea Fleet has been destroyed."

Persons: Sergei Kotov, —, Andrii, Russian Sergey Kotov, 3KPMpgxXD8, 4LGiEYQaEY — Anton Gerashchenko Organizations: Service, Directorate of Intelligence, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Digital, Kyiv, Radio Free, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Ukraine, Kyiv Independent Locations: Ukraine, Russia's, Russia, Ukrainian, Kerch, Radio Free Europe, Russian, Sevastopol, Crimea

☆ How Ukraine seized the upper hand against Russia in the battle for the Black Sea
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Tim Lister | Victoria Butenko | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Ukraine has virtually no navy of its own, but technological innovation, audacity and Russian incompetence have given it the upper hand in much of the Black Sea. Rather than fold, the Ukrainians declared a unilateral “Black Sea Humanitarian Corridor” for merchant shipping and stepped up its use of maritime drones and missile attacks against Russia’s Black Sea fleet. One-third of the Black Sea fleet has been disabled or destroyed, and the remaining ships rarely venture into the western half of the sea. In August, Russia withdrew some of the Black Sea fleet from its headquarters in Sevastopol to relatively safer ports on the Russian coast. Russia is unlikely to be able to tilt the balance in the Black Sea back in its favor.

Persons: Caesar Kunikov, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Yoruk Isik, Russia’s, Zelensky, Dmytro Pletenchuk, ” Pletenchuk, ’ Organizations: CNN, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, Reuters, Agriculture, UN, Initiative, NATO, Economy Ministry, Black Sea Initiative, Ukrainian, Russia, Maritime Autonomous Guard, Defense Intelligence, Drones, Both Defense Intelligence, Security Service, ’ AK, Black, Russian, Odesa, Montreux Convention – Locations: Crimea, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukrainian, Sevastopol, Washington, Novorossiysk, Sochi, ”, MAGURA, Krasnodar, Kerch, France, Snake, Odesa, Turkey, Black, Montreux, Moscow

☆ More fake aircraft are popping up at Russian bases in a crude attempt to fool Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Image © Planet Labs PBCMozdok Air Base on Jan. 11, 2024. Image © Planet Labs PBCKrymsk Air Base on Nov. 10, 2023. Image © Planet Labs PBCGvardeyskoye Air Base on Dec. 5, 2023. Image © Planet Labs PBCA Russian airfield near Sevastopol, Crimea on Oct. 26, 2023. Image © Planet Labs PBCAnalysts say this widespread tactic is an attempt by Russia to try and fool Ukrainian weaponry from hitting actual targets.

Persons: —, Deception, Brady Africk, Africk, We've Organizations: Analysts, Service, Planet Labs PBC, Business Insider, Mozdok Air Base, Mozdok, Base, Planet, PBC Mozdok Air Base, PBC Mozdok, Krymsk Air Base, Krymsk, PBC Krymsk Air Base, Gvardeyskoye, PBC Gvardeyskoye Air Base, Belbek, Russian, Planet Labs, American Enterprise Institute, Twitter Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Kyiv, Jan, Crimean, Mozdok, Kerch, Crimea, Sevastopol, Mar, Ukrainian

☆ A Ukrainian floating drone that is devastating Russia's Black Sea fleet can now fire missiles
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine has used sea drones to attack Russia's Black Sea fleet. Ukraine has had to improvise to offset Russia's naval superiority. AdvertisementUkraine claims it has fitted the floating drones it is using to devastate Russia's Black Sea fleet with missile launchers, making them even more deadly. Ukraine's intelligence service, the SBU, in early January released grainy video footage which it claimed showed its "Sea Baby" drones firing missiles at Russian vessels. One of its most striking successes in 2023 has been inflicting a series of devastating attacks on Russia's Black Sea fleet, despite its navy being a fraction of the size of Russia's.

Persons: Russia's, It's, —, it's, Nicholas Johnson, Wes O'Donnell, Johnson, Vasyl Maliuk Organizations: Service, Ukrainska Pravda, Business, RAND Corporation, BBC, CNN, BI Locations: Ukraine, Russia's, Sevastopol, Crimea, Kerch, Russian, Russia

☆ Three dead as storm hits Crimea and Russia's Black Sea coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Fierce storms killed three people on the Russian and Crimean Black Sea coast on Monday, with hundreds evacuated. Storms have been raging in the Black Sea since Friday. Video published online showed large waves sweeping over the seafront in Sochi, and carrying away cars. The Russian-installed governors of Crimea and Sevastopol, both of which Moscow seized and unilaterally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, declared states of emergency. In the Russian port of Novorossiysk, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and Russia's Transneft state oil pipeline company announced a halt to loadings due to weather conditions.

Persons: Felix Light, Kevin Liffey Organizations: TASS, Energy Ministry, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Crimean, State, Sochi, Kerch, Crimea, Russian, Yevpatoriya, Sevastopol, Ukraine, Dagestan, Krasnodar, Rostov, Russia, Novorossiysk

☆ Russian naval ships struck by exploding drone boats in the night sank to the bottom of the Black Sea, Ukraine says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine says its sea drones hit and sank two Russian Black Sea Fleet landing ships. Ukraine has relied on its fleet of explosive drone boats to trouble Russian ships in the Black Sea. AdvertisementAdvertisementUkraine's explosive sea drones have struck again, and this time, Kyiv says they struck and sank two ships belonging to Russia's Black Sea Fleet (BSF). The hit has again raised questions about Russia's ability to protect its Black Sea Fleet from Ukraine. Elsewhere in the Black Sea this week, a Russian anti-radar missile slammed into a Liberian-flagged cargo ship, killing one person and injuring four more.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Fleet, Defense Ministry, Sig, Security Service, Ukraine Telegram, Russian, Institute for, Liberian Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Kyiv, Russian, Crimean, Novorossiysk, Kerch, Russia, Ukrainian, Washington, Moscow

He was a violinist who became a soldier with Ukraine’s special forces. “We did it so that people in Ukraine and in occupied Crimea don’t lose spirit and keep faith in Crimea returning to Ukraine,” Muzykant said. Russian forces illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. Vasco Cotovio/CNNMuzykant said the dangerous operation took months of planning to prepare the Ukrainian soldiers for the many risks they would face. Stringer/ReutersMuzykant knows there’s still some time and plenty of hard work before Ukrainian forces are able to launch a bigger offensive on Crimea but more – and more daring – raids are on the horizon.

Persons: ”, Muzykant, ” Muzykant, Vladimir Putin, Vasco Cotovio, CNN Muzykant, “, Batallion, It’s, Dmytro Korchynskyi, ” Korchynskyi, Korchynskyi, Atesh, ” Atesh, Stringer, Reuters Muzykant, there’s Organizations: Ukraine CNN, CNN, “, Raptors, Fleet, Storm Shadow, Black, Russia, Planet Labs, Reuters CNN, Federal Security Service, Partisans, Reuters Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Crimea, Ukrainian, Russia’s, Moscow, Russian, CNN Moscow, ”, Crimean, Sevastopol, Kerch, Russia, Kherson, Melitopol

☆ Dutch prosecutor fines four companies that helped Russia build Crimea bridge
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A boat sails next to the Crimean bridge connecting the Russian mainland with the peninsula across the Kerch Strait, Crimea, July 17, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAMSTERDAM, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The Dutch prosecutor has penalised four Dutch companies and eight people for breaching EU sanctions on Russia between 2014 and 2017 for helping Moscow build a bridge to Crimea, it said in a statement on Friday. The eight people were sentenced to community service ranging from 20 to 60 hours while the companies paid fines totalling 160,000 euros ($169,000). "The Crimean bridge was built partly due to the use of Dutch knowledge and expertise," it added. The prosecutors' office did not name the companies involved.

Persons: Stringer, Charlotte Van Campenhout, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Kerch, Crimea, Russia, Moscow

☆ Russia is highly likely using an amphibious plane from the 1960s to hunt for a new threat to its Black Sea Fleet, Western intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine has battered Russia's Black Sea Fleet with cruise missile strikes and sea drone attacks. To deal with the new sea drone threat, Russia is increasing its maritime air patrol operations. AdvertisementAdvertisementRussia is highly likely relying on a decades-old amphibious plane to seek out a dangerous Ukrainian threat to its Black Sea Fleet, according to Western intelligence. This includes cruise missile strikes on a key shipyard and the fleet's headquarters and attacks with uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) — or sea drones — on Russian ships. It remains to be seen if the Be-12 makes a difference in curbing the threat of Ukraine's sea drones.

Persons: —, Michal Fludra, sonobuoys Organizations: Fleet, Service, Kyiv, Black, Sig, Naval Aviation, Aviation, Getty, Kacha Air Base Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Crimean, Kyiv, Novorossiysk, Russian, Kerch, Moscow, Crimea, Kaliningrad, Soviet, Sevastopol, Black

☆ Russia picked the Black Sea naval fight it's now losing to Ukraine, which doesn't even have a fleet of its own
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Kyiv's forces have used these weapons to increase attacks on high-profile Black Sea Fleet targets. Russia's Black Sea Fleet warships take part in the Navy Day celebrations in the port city of Novorossiysk on July 30, 2023. A little over a week after the shipyard attack, Ukraine bombarded the nearby headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet during a meeting of Russia's naval leadership. Russia has also seemingly demonstrated poor judgment in assessing Ukraine's capacity to actually carry out such impactful strikes on Black Sea Fleet targets, Harvey said. "The Ukrainians are learning to adapt to a maritime theater and having a significant impact on the Black Sea Fleet without having a fleet," he said.

Persons: —, Adm, Tony Radakin, Vladimir Putin, STRINGER, it's, Sig, Russia, John Harvey Jr, Biden, Harvey Organizations: Service, Black, United Nations, White, Getty, Moscow, Black Sea Fleet, Liberian, Fleet, Leadership, Russia, Security Service, Ukraine, Special Operations Forces, US, US Fleet Forces Command, Emergency, Artillery, MGM, Tactical Missile Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Novorossiysk, Palau, Russian, Ukrainian, Odesa, Kyiv, Kerch, Sevastopol, Crimean, Emergency Sevastopol, Crimea

☆ ‘Dark’ ships are faking their locations to move oil around the world — and it's likely worth billions of dollars
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Maritime technology company Windward identified the area as a hub for smuggling oil. Cargo ships and car ferries cross the Kerch Strait, an area of "dark activity," according to marine technology company Windward. So that's definitely moved that focus into, okay, I'm now going to manipulate that signal," he told CNBC by video call. This can be done in a number of ways, a Spire spokesperson told CNBC by email. "If you're in the insurance industry, and you're not paying attention to this, you really need to start paying attention," Swift told CNBC by video call.

Persons: John Lusk, Christopher Swift, Foley, Lardner, We're, Lusk, Ami Daniel, Daniel, Good Hope, Iain Goodridge, Spire's, that's, I'm, " Goodridge, OFAC, Swift Organizations: Windward, Europa Press, Getty, Maritime Organization, AIS, Spire Maritime, Government, CNBC, Russia, Anadolu Agency, Venezuela, Spire, U.S . Treasury Department Locations: Morocco, Maritime, Ukraine, U.S, Russia, Kerch, Windward, Arabian, Venezuela, The U.S, East Asia, Angola, Venezuela's, South Africa's, Good, China, Malaysia

☆ Crimean Bridge traffic reopens after temporary halt -operator
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A view shows the Crimean bridge connecting the Russian mainland with the peninsula across the Kerch Strait, Crimea, July 17, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 12 (Reuters) - Traffic on the main bridge linking the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has reopened after a temporary suspension, the Russian-installed operator of the bridge said early on Tuesday. The administration did not disclose the reason for the suspension in the statement on its Telegram messaging channel. The Crimean Bridge has been a target of increased air and sea drone attacks in recent months. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and Ron Popeski in Winnipeg; Editing by Chris Reese and Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Stringer, Lidia Kelly, Ron Popeski, Chris Reese Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Kerch, Crimea, Crimean, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Melbourne, Winnipeg

☆ Crimean Bridge traffic resumes after brief suspension - Russia-installed operator
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A view through a train window shows the section of a road split and sloping to one side following an alleged attack on the Crimea Bridge, that connects the Russian mainland with the Crimean peninsula across the Kerch Strait, in this still image from video taken July 17, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 3 (Reuters) - Traffic on the main bridge linking the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula resumed after a brief suspension early on Sunday, the Russian-installed operator of the bridge said on the Telegram messaging app. The administration did not disclose the reason for the suspension. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 in a move condemned by many Western governments as illegal. The Crimean Bridge has been a target of increased air and sea drone attacks in recent months.

Persons: Stringer, Lidia Kelly, Lincoln Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Crimea, Crimean, Kerch, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Melbourne

☆ Russia Says It Thwarted Another Ukrainian Attack on Crimea Bridge
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Marc Santora | More About Marc Santora | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Russian military said Saturday that it had thwarted another attack on a critical bridge linking the occupied Crimean Peninsula to Russia that Kyiv has vowed to keep attacking until it is unusable. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that three Ukrainian “semi-submersible unmanned boats” targeting the Kerch Strait Bridge were destroyed in the Black Sea overnight. The first maritime drone was detected shortly before midnight and the other two launched about 10 minutes apart just after 2 a.m. local time, the ministry said in statements. The claims could not be independently verified, and Ukraine’s military did not explicitly comment Saturday on whether its drones had targeted the bridge. But Ukrainian officials have said that they consider the destruction of the vital 12-mile-long bridge a strategic priority, and Kyiv’s forces have repeatedly targeted it.

Organizations: Kyiv, Russian Ministry of Defense Locations: Crimean, Russia, Kerch, Black

☆ Ukraine war: Kyiv's burgeoning weapons industry is enabling it to project power far beyond the front lines
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —In the early hours of August 29th, swarms of Ukrainian drones flew across seven Russian regions. One Russian blogger complained that the Pskov strike indicated that Russian air defenses had not adapted to defend against repeated Ukrainian drone strikes. The damage being done is not going to break the back of the Russian air force, but it has become a serious irritant. Open-source reporting suggests there are at least several Pantsir-2 air defense batteries around Moscow. Such weapons put Russian forces on notice that they are vulnerable far from the front lines.

Persons: Volodymr Zelensky, Russia –, Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksiy Reznikov, Mykhailo Podolyak, Vitalii, Danilov, ” Zelensky, Podolyak, Kyrylo Budanov, gamesmanship –, Mick Ryan, Budanov, Yuriy Inhat, Putin, ” Organizations: CNN, Defense, “, Getty Senior, National Security and Defense, Ukraine’s, of Strategic Industries, Strategic Communication, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, SIG, The, Ukrainian Air Force Locations: Pskov, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russian, Crimea, Russia, Moscow, “ Ukraine, Kyiv, Kerch, Novosibirsk, Australian, Crimean, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Berdiansk, Donetsk

☆ Ukraine has a key bridge in its sights, and Russia is throwing whatever it can, from sunken ships to smoke screens, into trying to defend it
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia has set up a number of defenses to protect the Kerch Bridge from Ukrainian drone boat attacks. The protective measures include using smoke screens, sunken ships, and containment booms, intelligence indicates. The Kerch Bridge is a key supply and logistics line and a symbol of its influence over Crimea. The new defensive strategies for protecting the Kerch Bridge include purposefully sunken ships, smoke generators, and containment booms, among other things, according to Western intelligence. That has made the Kerch Bridge a symbol of Russian oppression of Ukraine and a key target for Ukrainian forces.

Persons: It's, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: Service, Getty, Ukrainian Locations: Russia, Kerch, Ukrainian, Crimea, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, AFP, Kerch Strait

☆ Russian Defence Ministry says boat destroyed trying to attack Crimea bridge
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 2 (Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry said early on Saturday that its forces had destroyed an unmanned Ukrainian boat being used in an attempt to attack the bridge linking the Crimean peninsula to the Russian mainland. The bridge, completed in 2018, four years after Russia occupied and annexed the peninsula from Ukraine, has come under repeated attack in Moscow's 18-month-old full-scale invasion of its neighbour. "On 1st September at about 11.15 p.m. (2015 GMT), an attempt was undertaken by the Kyiv regime to launch a terrorist strike with a half-loaded unmanned boat," the ministry said on Telegram. It said the boat had been "spotted and destroyed in time off the Black Sea coast". Ukraine claimed responsibility for an attack in July on the bridge by what has been described as a sea drone.

Persons: Stringer, Ron Popeski, Leslie Adler Organizations: REUTERS, Russia's Defence Ministry, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Crimea, Crimean, Kerch, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow's, Kyiv

The attacks are forcing Russian tourists to reconsider their plans. Popular destinationCrimea has always been popular with Russian tourists, many of whom remember vacationing there during Soviet times. After Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, a number of countries closed their doors to Russian tourists. Crimea suddenly became one of the few sunny beach destinations Russian tourists could still visit without having to spend a lot of money. The attack was frightening enough to scare away many of the Russian tourists who had still been planning to come.

Persons: Oleksii Reznikov, Svitlana, “, ”, Olga Maltseva, hasn’t, Iryna Vereshchuk, Putin, ” Svitlana, Vladimir Konstantinov, ATOR, ” Reznikov, Reznikov, Volodymyr Zelensky, –, ” Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Kyiv’s, “, Getty, Crimean Ministry of Resorts, Tourism, Russian Union of Travel Industry, Ukraine’s, Moscow, European Union, Association of Russian, Kyiv, Security Service of Ukraine, State Council of, Russian, Fleet, Crimean Human Rights Group Locations: Crimea, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Moscow, Russia, Russian, St . Petersburg, AFP, Yalta, Kerch, EU, Europe, Turkey, Sochi, Republic of Crimea, Crimean, Sevastopol, Kyiv

☆ Russia is sinking its own ships in a desperate attempt to protect a vital bridge from sea drones, Ukraine says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia is sinking its own ferries to create a protective barrier in the Kerch Strait, Ukraine said. Russia is doing this to protect the Kerch Bridge from Ukrainian sea drone attacks, they added. But Stephen Wright, a drone technology developer, told Insider that the new tactic won't prove useful for Russia, at least against drone attacks. Russia has been trying to deploy all kinds of defenses amid a series of audacious Ukrainian sea drone attacks in the area, which have previously damaged large warships. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe attacks have ramped up ever since Ukraine unveiled a new sea drone that packs hundreds of pounds of explosives and is faster than anything in the Black Sea, CNN reported.

Persons: GUR, Stephen Wright Organizations: Service, Main Intelligence, Ukraine's Defense Ministry, CNN Locations: Russia, Kerch Strait, Ukraine, Kerch, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Crimea, Kyiv

“It’s knocked the Russians off balance a bit, but it is not doing anything decisive,” a senior defense official told CNN. Investigative Committee of Russia/Reuters“There’s more and more pressure on Crimea, and especially so in recent weeks,” that official told CNN. For now, the United States is not actively advising Ukraine against striking Crimea, according to the senior defense official. A stalled offensiveUS and Ukrainian officials openly acknowledge that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has not proceeded as quickly as had been expected and war-gamed in the months leading up to the push. “I’m not too optimistic that we’ll be at the Sea of Azov by Christmas,” said the US military official.

Persons: “ It’s, ”, Reuters “, “, Vladimir Putin, Michael Kofman, ” Miles, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, Biden, Western, Reuters, Eurasia Program, Carnegie Endowment, International Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Washington, Russian, Russia, Crimean, Kerch, Ukrainian, United States, Bakhmut, Azov, Europe, “

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