Friedrich Merz, Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting, has suggested that long-range Taurus missiles, if delivered to Ukraine, could be used to target strategic Russian military infrastructure in Crimea, including the Kerch Bridge, a key supply route linking Russia to the occupied peninsula.
Tigran Keosayan hosted the International Pilorama program on the Russian state-controlled NTV channel. His directorial career began in 1992. Since then, he has directed about 20 films, including the propaganda film "The Crimean Bridge. Made with Love!"
"Still, of course, they (Russia) are taking maximum measures to protect this illegal construction (the Crimean bridge)," said Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy. "And so far, there are no tendencies to reduce their activity."
The images, taken on Nov. 8, Dec. 16, and Dec. 24, reveal that Russia has yet to fully repair the barriers, which are constructed from old barges.
The number of barges Russia has deployed in the Kerch Strait to protect the illegal Crimean Bridge against Ukrainian maritime drones has halved in a month, the Center of Journalistic Investigations reported on Dec. 10.
Key developments on Dec. 6: * Zelensky unveils new Ukrainian new missile-drone — 'Peklo' * Crimean Bridge closed after reported Ukrainian drone strikes on Kerch * Ukrainian partisans sabotage railway line linking Moscow to Kursk Oblast, group claims * Estonian company to test AI-guided anti-drone missiles in Ukraine, CEO says * Putin replaces Kursk Oblast governor
"Vehicular traffic on the Crimean Bridge has been temporarily suspended," the Crimean Bridge: Operational Information Telegram channel said.
According to the Crimean Wind Telegram channel, plastic and metal barrels connected by metal frames were spotted littering the beach in Kerch on the occupied peninsula.
Russia is attempting to bolster defenses around the Crimean Bridge using underwater drone traps, it was reported on Sept. 27. According to the Crimean Wind Telegram channel, the metal structures have been put in place using barges and a floating crane for the last month. An unverified photo accompanying the
LATEST: Crimean bridge defenses being bolstered by underwater drone traps, according to reports. Russia is building a new but unidentified structure near the Crimean Bridge, Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said on national television on Sept. 26. The purpose of the construction is not yet currently known for certain, Pletenchuk said,
Kyiv says it was built deliberately low to the water in order to keep out international shipping.
The U.S. and U.K. may be on the verge of what could be a hugely significant move regarding the war in Ukraine, with reports suggesting both countries might soon allow Kyiv to use their long-range weapons to strike targets deep in Russian territory. U.S. President Joe Biden
Russia downed 12 ATACMS launched overnight by Ukraine as part of an attack on the Crimean Bridge, Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti reported on Aug. 16, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.
Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast over the past week is lifting some hopes for Ukrainian soldiers losing ground on the eastern front amid worsening manpower and ammunition shortages. Ukraine launched its stunning counterattack in the northeast into Russian territory 10 months into Russia’s renewed large-scale
The bridge was heavily damaged by Ukrainian strikes in October 2022 and July 2023, prompting Russia to take steps to further defend the structure.
Russia is reinforcing the Kerch Bridge in occupied Crimea, Krym Realii reported on July 24, citing witnesses.
In the Netherlands, construction equipment supplier Dieseko Group B.V. was fined nearly 1.8 million euros ($1.9 million) for its involvement in the illegal construction of the Crimean bridge, violating international trade sanctions.
The attacks targeted the servers of propaganda media, telecom operators, and the system for registering and controlling traffic on the Kerch Bridge, according to the source.
The bridge accounts for less than a quarter of the total transiting cargo, and for the rest, Russia uses a ferry crossing in Kerch, which the Ukrainian military struck in late May, Pletenchuk said.
An overnight attack on the port city of Kerch in Crimea damaged two transport ferries, Crimea's Russian-installed transportation chief Nikolai Lukashenko claimed on May 30.
The bridge, also called the Kerch Bridge, connects the Russian mainland with the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula, and has long been a crucial supply route for the Russian military in Ukraine.
Russian forces shot down a Ukrainian drone over occupied Crimea on May 2, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed.
The news was corroborated by the Crimean Wind and Astra Telegram channels, which also added that the Crimean Bridge was temporarily closed as a result.
Russia's Foreign Ministry called for the arrest and extradition of the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), citing the March 22 terrorist attack that has been claimed by an Afghanistan-based ISIS group, as well as other attacks.
Moscow has been constructing a railroad between Russia's port city Rostov-on-Don and occupied Crimea, as an alternative to the Crimean Bridge, running via key occupied and strategic ares, such as Donetsk and Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast and Berdiansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) chief Vasyl Maliuk was charged in absentia with "terrorism" by a Moscow court on March 26.
Russia no longer uses the Crimean bridge to supply weapons to the front after Ukrainian strikes damaged the crossing, Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on air on March 25.
When faced with questions from German lawmakers on March 13, Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again said "no" to the delivery of the Taurus long-range missile to Ukraine. "Prudence is not something that one can qualify as a weakness. Prudence is something that the citizens of our country are entitled to,
The closure marks the second consecutive night that occupation authorities shut down the bridge. Officials blocked traffic overnight on March 3, amid reports of explosions in Feodosia.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that overnight on March 3, its forces allegedly intercepted and destroyed 38 drones over Russian-occupied Crimea.
Authorities announced that vehicle traffic was blocked on the bridge at around 3:40 a.m. local time. Earlier in the night, local Telegram channels reported that residents heard sounds of explosions near an oil depot in Feodosia.
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