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☆ 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

☆ 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 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, “

☆ Russia vows retaliation for Ukraine's 'terrorist attack' on Crimean Bridge
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned on Saturday what it called Ukraine's "terrorist attack" on the Crimean Bridge, saying it put innocent civilians' lives at risk, and vowed retaliation. "There can be no justification for such barbaric actions and they will not go unanswered," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. Earlier, Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had thwarted a Ukrainian rocket attack on the 12-mile (19 km) bridge, which links Russian-annexed Crimea to Russia across the Kerch Strait. The ministry said Russian forces had also shot down a number of Ukrainian drones targeting the peninsula. Reporting by Gareth Jones; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Maria Zakharova, Gareth Jones, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Foreign, Russia's Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Crimea, Russia, Kerch

☆ Ukraine Makes Progress Along 2 Lines of Attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Marc Santora | More About Marc Santora | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After months of grueling advances through minefields, small villages and open steppes, Ukrainian forces are making some progress along two major lines of attack, according to analysts, Ukrainian officials and Russian military bloggers. The advances, while small in terms of territory taken, are compelling Moscow to redeploy forces, military analysts say. Ukraine is trying to reach the Sea of Azov and drive a wedge into Russian-occupied territory. Explosions again echoed at the bridge on Saturday, as the Russian military said it had thwarted a missile attack. The Russian account could not be independently confirmed, and Ukrainian officials had no immediate comments on the episode.

Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Moscow, Washington, Ukraine, Azov, Crimean, Russia, Kerch

Two Ukrainian missiles were shot down on Saturday afternoon, the Russia-appointed Head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov wrote in a post on Telegram, adding that the bridge was undamaged. “Another enemy missile was shot down over the Kerch Strait. Meanwhile, traffic has resumed on the Crimean bridge, according to the Crimean bridge operative information Telegram account, after it was temporarily blocked. The Kremlin was quick to blame Kyiv for that explosion, and Putin alleged that it was an act of “sabotage” by Ukrainian security services. The bridge was also hit by two strikes in July in an attack a Ukrainian security official told CNN Kyiv was responsible for.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Crimea Sergey Aksyonov, Aksyonov, Oleg Kryuchkov, ” “, Maria Zakharova, ” Zakharova, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Vasyl Maliuk, ” Maliuk, ” Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, Kyiv, CNN Kyiv, Ukrainian Security Service Locations: Crimea, Russia, Kerch, Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, Ukrainian

☆ Russia says it thwarts Ukrainian rocket attack on Crimean Bridge, downs drones
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that Ukraine had tried unsuccessfully to strike the Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait with S-200 rockets, but that no damage or casualties had been caused. The 12-mile (19-km) bridge, which links Russian-annexed Crimea to Russia, has come under repeated attack from Ukrainian forces since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. "The Ukrainian missile was detected in a timely manner and was intercepted in the air by Russian air defence systems. Separately, Russian forces destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones launched onto the Crimean Peninsula earlier on Saturday, Russia's Defence Ministry said. It was not immediately clear what was targeted in those reported attacks on the Black Sea peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Persons: Sergei Aksyonov, Vladimir Putin, Lidia Kelly, Felix, Gareth Jones, William Mallard, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Russia's Defence, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia's Defence Ministry, Reuters, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kerch, Russian, Crimea, Russia, Ukrainian, Moscow

☆ Ukraine doesn't have much of a navy, but it's found a way to hunt down the 'weakest links' in Russia's critical sea supply lanes, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian drones are attacking Russian ships and tankers, wrecking critical sea supply lanes. It's the latest incident involving Ukrainian sea drones hitting vital Russian naval targets, weakening sea supply lanes and proving Kyiv to be a scrappy, formidable naval force while lacking an actual fleet beyond some patrol boats. "The attacks show that USV operations are increasingly a major component of modern naval warfare and can be turned against the weakest links of Russia's sea supply lanes," the UK intel update said. Ukraine has made the development of sea drones a priority, even crowdfunding for what they call "the formation of the world's first naval fleet of drones." An expert previously told Insider the remotely operated, cheap-but-effective waterborne drones give Ukraine an "asymmetric advantage," stressing Russian defenses and resources.

Persons: Sig, Ukraine's USVs Organizations: UK intel, Kyiv, Service, Ukraine, UK Ministry of Defense, intel Locations: Russian, Kerch, UK, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Syria, Ukraine

☆ Watch: Ukrainian Drone Attacks Russian Oil Tanker in Kerch Strait
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

How This Virginia Aquaculture Farm Raises Four Million Oysters for MarketWard Oyster Co. is one of the largest cage oyster farms on the East Coast, selling 4 million oysters and tens of millions of larvae each year. But it takes years for oysters to mature, and in that time, a lot can go wrong. Photo: Graham Copeland

Persons: Graham Copeland Locations: Virginia, East Coast

A Ukrainian naval drone hit a Russian oil tanker early Saturday off the occupied Crimean Peninsula, the second Ukrainian sea drone attack to strike Russian ships in the Black Sea in two days, Ukrainian and Russian officials said. The engine room of the tanker was damaged, but the ship remained afloat, there was no oil spillage and no crew members were injured, Russia’s Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport said on its Telegram channel. Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, said Ukraine was responsible for the attack and that Kyiv’s forces would continue to attack any ship assisting in the Russian war effort. The tanker was near the Kerch Strait Bridge, a vital connection for Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which has been under Russian occupation since 2014. Mr. Malyuk said Ukraine would continue attacking the bridge until Russian forces completely withdraw from Ukrainian lands.

Persons: Vasyl Malyuk, Malyuk Organizations: Russia’s Federal Agency for, Inland Water Transport, Security Service Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Crimean, Russia’s Federal Agency for Sea, Ukraine, Kerch, Russia

☆ Ukrainian drone carrying 450 kg of TNT slams into Russian oil tanker day after Russian warship was attacked
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Ukrainian maritime drone struck a Russian oil tanker on Saturday. It came a day after another naval drone attack on a Russian warship. The strike came after another drone strike on Friday badly damaged a Russian warship in the Russian port city of Novorossiysk. A Russian official also claimed Saturday that a Ukrainian drone was spotted and subsequently destroyed in the waters outside Sevastopol, the Crimean port city home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet. He noted that Ukraine was likely using a recently unveiled model of naval drone that Ukraine claims can strike targets 500 miles away.

Persons: Stephen Wright, Wright Organizations: Service, Fleet, BBC, TNT, Financial Times Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Kerch, Azov, Novorossiysk, Sevastopol, Crimean, Russia, Odesa, Crimea, Moscow

The Russian-flagged ship, the Sig, was hit by a drone carrying 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of TNT shortly before midnight, according to a Ukraine Security Service source. Ukrainian officials, however, said some crew were injured and that the tanker was carrying fuel for the Russian military. The strike on the Sig came just hours after Ukrainian sea drones targeted a major naval base in Novorossiysk, a coastal city on the Black Sea that is home to Russia’s largest port by volume of cargo handled. Ukraine has stepped up its attacks using unmanned aerial vehicles in recent weeks, hitting targets well within Russian territory, including in Moscow. The new generation of powerful sea drones, however, could open up a new front for Kyiv in the 18-month conflict.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Vasyl Maliuk, ” Maliuk Organizations: Ukraine CNN, TNT, Ukraine Security Service, Federal Agency for Marine, Transport, CNN, Sig, Kyiv, Russia’s Defense Ministry Ukrainian, Ukrainian Security Service, Service, Security Service Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Novorossiysk, Russian, Moscow, Kerch, Russia, Crimea, Feodosia, ”, reticence

Kyiv, Ukraine CNN —Ukraine said it had carried out a sea drone attack on a Russian naval base, as dramatic videos appeared to show a damaged Russian warship listing heavily in the Black Sea early Friday. Novorossiysk, near the Russian city of Krasnodar, is one of Russia’s largest ports and is a base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. “Therefore, the presence of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, and with it – #Moscow’s traditional blackmail will be put to an end. Black Sea strikesUkraine has previously targeted Russian naval assets in the Black Sea. As Ukraine’s sea drone program has developed, it has increasingly allowed the military to attack and surveil Russia’s fleet in the Black Sea and on the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Persons: Gornyak, Mykhailo Podolyak, ” Podolyak, ”, Veniamin Kondratiev, Oleg Kryuchkov, Crimea Sergey Aksyonov, surveil, Volodymyr Zelensky, “, ” Zelensky Organizations: Ukraine CNN —, CNN, TNT, “, Security Service, Ukrainian Navy, Fleet, Russian, RIA Novosti, Novorossiysk “, Union, “ Cargo Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukraine CNN — Ukraine, Russian, Novorossiysk, Ukrainian, Krasnodar, Russia, Crimea, Crimean, Kerch, Kremlin, Moscow, “ Ukraine

☆ Blasts in Crimea, pro-Russia officials report Ukraine drone attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Other pro-Russian officials in occupied areas of Ukraine said the explosions were linked to an attack by Ukrainian drones. Some reports said a tanker sailing under a Russian flag sustained damage. Traffic was halted on the bridge in the early morning, the third such stop in the past 24 hours. "Once again, there was no direct attack on the Crimea bridge and there was no explosion in the immediate vicinity," Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the Russia-installed governor of Crimea was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. Both Ukrainian news reports and pro-Russian officials in occupied parts of Ukraine said Ukrainian drones had attacked a tanker vessel in the Kerch Strait operating under a Russian flag and identified as the SIG.

Persons: Read, Oleg Kryuchkov, Vladimir Rogov, Ron Popeski, Nick Starkov, Grant McCool Organizations: SIG, Thomson Locations: Crimea, Crimean, Kerch, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Syria, Zaporizhzhia, Moscow

☆ Ukraine investigating attacks on grain ports as potential war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

View of the damage at a grain port facility after a reported attack by Russian military drones in the Odesa region, Ukraine August 2, 2023. Prosecutor General's Office via Telegram/Handout via REUTERSAMSTERDAM, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Ukraine's prosecutor general is investigating Russian attacks on its agriculture infrastructure since July as potential war crimes, the office told Reuters on Thursday. "Ukraine is investigating these acts as potential war crimes," it said. Ukrainian authorities are already reviewing more than 97,000 reports of suspected war crimes and have filed charges against 220 suspects in domestic courts. It has described recent attacks on Ukraine's grain infrastructure as retaliation for a Ukrainian strike on a bridge across the Kerch Strait to Crimea used to supply its troops in southern Ukraine.

Persons: general's, RIA, Anthony Deutsch, Alex Richardson, Alison Williams Organizations: General's, REUTERS, Grain Initiative, International Criminal, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Odesa, Ukraine, REUTERS AMSTERDAM, Russia, The Hague, Kherson, Moscow, Kerch, Crimea, Izmail

☆ Russia strikes Ukraine's Danube port, driving up global grain prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Kubrakov, writing on Facebook, said the Danube ports' infrastructure had been "devastated". "Ukrainian grain is indispensable for the world and cannot be replaced by any other country in the coming years," he wrote. "The port of Izmail suffered the most damage, including the terminal and infrastructure of the Danube Shipping Company." Russian state news agency RIA said the port and grain infrastructure hit was housing foreign mercenaries and military hardware. Seaport authority head Yuriy Lytvyn said on Facebook that repair work had already begun and the port infrastructure continued to operate.

Persons: Oleksandr Kubrakov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, RIA, Oleh Kiper, Yuriy Lytvyn, Nina, PUTIN, Vladimir Putin, Tayyip Erdogan, West, Putin, Erdogan, Ukraine Bridget Brink, Russia's, Farhan Haq, Pavel Polityuk, Peter Graff, Hugh Lawson, Daniel Wallis, Michelle Nichols, Simon Cameron, Moore, Philippa Fletcher, Giles Elgood, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: NATO, Romania Kyiv, Ukraine's, Russia reimposed, Facebook, Danube Shipping Company, Reuters, REUTERS, United Nations, Kremlin, International, Court, TASS, U.S, Rih, Thomson Locations: Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Izmail, Africa, China, Israel, Moscow, NATO, Russian, Odesa, Turkey, Soviet, Tehran, Kerch, Crimea, Ports, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Kherson, Constanta

☆ Russia's FSB says traces of explosives found on foreign grain ship
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 24 (Reuters) - Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday that it had found traces of explosives on a ship travelling from Turkey to the port of Rostov-on-Don in Russia to pick up grain. The FSB said the ship had been docked in the Ukrainian port of Kiliia in May, and that it may have been used to deliver explosives to Ukraine. It said the ship had changed its name while in the Turkish port of Tuzla earlier this month and replaced its crew, which had consisted of 12 Ukrainian nationals. "These circumstances may indicate the possibility of using the foreign civilian ship to deliver explosives to the territory of Ukraine," it said. It came one week after Russia pulled out of an agreement that had enabled Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports, with ships undergoing security inspections.

Persons: Bernadette Baum Organizations: Federal Security Service, Don, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Turkey, Rostov, Russia, Ukrainian, Kiliia, Ukraine, Turkish, Tuzla, Kerch

☆ Russia Attacks Odesa for a Second Night: Ukraine War Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Victoria Kim | Marc Santora | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Several waves of missiles and drones were launched at cities across Ukraine overnight, but the assault was particularly concentrated on infrastructure targets in Odesa, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. “It was a hellish night,” Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa regional military administration, said in a video message posted on social media. At least 30 cruise missiles and 32 attack drones were fired at targets across the country, primarily from the Black Sea, the air force said. Ukraine said the assault on Odesa, the country’s largest port, was Russia resuming its blockade of Ukrainian grain ships passing through the Black Sea. The Kremlin issued threats on Tuesday against Kyiv attempting to continue shipments of food through the Black Sea.

Persons: ” Serhiy Bratchuk, Sergei Aksyonov, Serhii Popko Organizations: Reuters, Ukraine’s Air Force, United Nations, ”, Kyiv Locations: Odesa ., Reuters Russia, Odesa, Black, Moscow, Ukraine, Port, Russian, Crimean, Russia, Crimea, Kerch, ” Russia

☆ Putin's military supply routes are being blocked by Russian tourists after he encouraged them to go on holiday in Crimea, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian tourists are snarling up military supply routes near Crimea, a report said. The Institute for the Study of War described the Kerch bridge as one of two supply routes for Russian forces in southern Ukraine battling to resist a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Russian tourists in the resort town of Alushta on the Crimean peninsula on June 18, 2023. Despite this, Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered Russian military vehicles to help ferry tourists to the location, it said. In the wake of Sunday's attack, Putin urged tourists to avoid the Kerch bridge and instead take the route through occupied east Ukraine.

Persons: OLGA MALTSEVA, Vladimir Putin, Putin Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Institute for, Getty, Moscow Times, Daily Locations: Crimea, Crimean, Wall, Silicon, Kerch, Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Alushta, AFP

☆ Movement of cargo vessels through Kerch Strait suspended by Russia since July 16 - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

July 18 (Reuters) - The movement of cargo vessels through the Kerch Strait has been suspended by Russian authorities since July 16 following drone attacks on the Crimean port of Sevastopol, two industry sources told Reuters. Russia's defence ministry said its forces had prevented Ukraine from attacking Sevastopol on Sunday, destroying seven aerial and two maritime drones. They stopped it on July 16, around 5 p.m. local time, when there was a (drone) attack on Sevastopol," said one source, who declined to be named. Security in the area also worsened on Monday following an overnight attack on the Crimean Bridge spanning the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kevin Liffey Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: Kerch, Sevastopol, Russia's, Ukraine, Azov

☆ Russian tourists need to cross active war zones in Ukraine to get to their summer vacations in occupied Crimea
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian tourists need to cross through occupied Ukraine to get to their summer holidays in Crimea. An expert told Insider that Russian tourism in Crimea is a priority for Putin and the Kremlin. "There's been a huge push on the part of Russian authorities to really sustain and even increase tourism in occupied Crimea for economic reasons, and for an integration of occupied Crimea into the larger Russian system," Hird said. Crimea is a legitimate military target for Kyiv and among the most important territories Ukraine hopes to reclaim in this war. Since the Kerch Bridge's shut down, Russian media released an instruction guide for Russian tourists traveling through occupied Ukrainian territories, Anton Gerashchenko, the advisor to the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine, tweeted.

Persons: Putin, Ukraine didn't, Karolina Hird, Evans Hanson, Vladimir Putin, There's, " Hird, We've, Hird, Anton Gerashchenko Organizations: Service, Ukrainian Security, CNN, Institute for, Russian Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Kerch, Wall, Silicon, Russia, It's, Moscow, Kherson, Melitopol, Donetsk Oblast, Russian

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