Fearing Ukrainian troops landing in Crimea, Russia intensifies coastal mining
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Russian troops have intensified mining coastlines in Russian-occupied Crimea to prevent a possible landing by Ukrainian troops, Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesperson for Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces, told the Kyiv Independent on April 21.
Voloshyn said that Russia's "Crimea" operational-tactical group continues to actively mine the coastlines and beaches as Russia fears Ukrainian marines might land there again. The last time Ukrainian soldiers landed in Crimea was in 2023.
"The beaches will now become minefields," Voloshyn said.
He added that the total length of Crimea's coastline is about 760 kilometers (472 miles) and that much of its territory has already been mined.
"There are dozens of kilometers of mine-explosive barriers. (Russia) uses both variable-depth minefields and individual minefields, and sets up high-explosive barriers. This involves hundreds of different types of individual mines," Voloshyn said.
On Aug. 24, 2023, Ukrainian forces landed on Russian-occupied Crimea and raised the Ukrainian flag as part of an operation with the Navy, Ukraine's Military Intelligence (HUR) said.
Ukrainian intelligence reported that special watercraft landed on the Crimean coast at the beach near Maiak, a village on the northwestern tip of Crimea, and engaged in combat.
There have also been increasingly damaging attacks on Russian military targets across the peninsula in recent years, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014.
On April 8, Ukrainian drones struck a maritime oil terminal in Feodosia, Russian-occupied Crimea, Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert "Magyar" Brovdi and the General Staff said.
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