The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

Russia reduces barge barriers protecting Crimean Bridge by half in a month

by Tim Zadorozhnyy December 10, 2024 9:33 PM 2 min read
Russia's illegally built Crimean Bridge, Oct. 14, 2022. Occupation authorities closed the bridge on March. 3 amid reports of explosions in occupied Crimea. (Stringer / AFP via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

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.

The barriers form part of a network of measures, both on land and sea, set up by Moscow to protect the bridge after multiple successful Ukrainian attacks.

Satellite images from Nov. 8 showed 34 barges arranged in two rows near the shipping channel in the Kerch Strait, installed between July 27 and Aug. 8.

Recent Sentinel-2 satellite images from Dec. 8 reveal only 18 barges remaining between Tuzla Island and the Kerch Peninsula. The fate of the other 16 vessels is unclear.

On Sept. 30, it was reported that barriers intended to protect the bridge from attacks were washed ashore after a storm, with plastic and metal barrels connected by frames scattered on Kerch beaches.

The 19-kilometer-long Crimean Bridge, constructed following Russia’s illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014 and completed in 2018, serves as a vital supply route for Russian forces.

The bridge has been targeted by Ukraine multiple times, suffering heavy damage in strikes in October 2022 and July 2023.

The Crimean bridge remains a focal point of the conflict and is also the subject of a legal dispute between Ukraine and Russia at the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Confusion over Russian advances in Sumy Oblast, authorities deny border breach
The map changes showed Russian forces occupying 2 square kilometers (0,8 square miles) in Sumy and advancing in the Kursk Oblast. These developments are reflected as of December 10.

News Feed

12:24 PM

Ukraine receives $400 million tranche from IMF.

The funds represent the latest tranche of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, which will provide Kyiv with $15.6 billion in budget support over four years. With the additional $400 million in funding, the program has now distributed $10.1 billion in financing to Ukraine.
8:59 AM

Shooter opens fire on police in Russia's Murmansk.

The man began shooting from the roof of a building at Kolskiy Avenue 10 in the central part of the city, after which the authorities stormed the roof and "neutralized" the attacker, the regional Investigative Committee said.
3:19 PM

More US controversies and cyberattack | Ukraine This Week.

In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, the Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur discusses how the Trump administration conducts foreign policy as Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is embroiled in several controversies amid ceasefire negotiations. Also, Ukrainians experience yet another cyberattack, this time on the national railway service.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.