Russia claims key Crimea bridge is fully repaired, but actually it remains limited and a huge 'security burden,' UK intel says
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Sinéad Baker
Oct 19, 2023, 18:44 IST
A video grab taken from Crimea24TV footage on July 17, 2023, shows the damaged Kerch bridge — linking Crimea to Russia – which was damaged by a drone attack.Crimea24TV/AFP via Getty Images
Russia said the Kerch Bridge was fully repaired after a Ukrainian attack in July.
But the bridge is "now almost certainly a significant security burden" for Russia, the UK MOD said.
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The bridge that links Crimea to Russia is still only partly in use — despite Russia's claims it is fully repaired after an attack by Ukraine in July — and will be a "significant security burden" going forward, according to UK intelligence.
"Trucks and fuel supplies continue to be moved by ferry," the UK MOD said.
That's despite Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin declaring on October 14 that damage from a July 2023 attack was repaired ahead of schedule, the MOD said.
Russia uses the 12-mile-long bridge to bring supplies and equipment from Russia into Crimea, a peninsula in Southern Ukraine that was annexed by Russia in 2014.
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Russia has used Crimea to launch many of its attacks on Ukraine, including hitting cities and towns far from the front lines.
Despite its operating limits, "the Crimean bridge will remain a vital link in sustaining Russia's occupation of Crimea and its forces in southern Ukraine," the MOD said.
But it is now "almost certainly a significant security burden requiring multi-domain protection, including the use of air defence systems and crews who would otherwise be deployed elsewhere," it added.
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The MOD said that: "Russian security forces confidence in their ability to protect this large and vulnerable structure will continue to be threatened by the ingenuity of Ukraine's military and security services."
Soldiers involved in those raids said they were partly done to give hope to Ukrainians living in Crimea that Ukraine will take back the peninsula.
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