WarNews24/7 coverage of Kerch Bridge attack
From WarNews24/7
Ukrainians launch massive attack on Crimea: British underwater robots blow up Kerch Bridge – Knocked it out for months! (video)
Did an American drone guide the Ukrainian attack?
The blow received by the Kerch bridge is quite serious, as admitted by B. Putin and other Russian Officials. According to the data so far, the bridge was hit by underwater autonomous drones-robots of British manufacture.
Part of the bridge has collapsed. The Russians say at least two explosions went off under the bridge at 3:04 a.m. and 3:20 a.m. local time.
In fact, the Russian Ministry of Transport and Communications said that the 155th pillar of the bridge on the Crimean side has been damaged.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Kushnulin said the bridge would be fully repaired by November 1.
He did not admit that any piers of the bridge were damaged in the attack, but said that a section of the roadway was completely destroyed and would have to be built from scratch.
He added that road traffic will resume in one direction of the road by September 15, with road traffic in both directions restored by November 1.
New Russian information indicates that one lane of the bridge was completely destroyed and will be replaced with a new one, the second has been displaced by 70% and will probably be restored. In addition, one railway line of the bridge was damaged.
The British have opened the “window of opportunity” for the Ukrainians to launch a massive attack on Crimea in the next two months. It remains to be seen if they will succeed. It is also clear that yesterday Ukrainians and British were looking for the vulnerable points of the Russian defense on the bridge of Kerch.
Did the Ukrainians use British underwater drones?
The attack on the Crimean bridge was carried out with the help of the British REMUS 600 autonomous underwater robot with an additional load of explosives, Russian and Ukrainian sources say.
Until today it was known that the British delivered to Kiev the REMUS 100, but not the more advanced REMUS 600.
This drone is easily controlled via a laptop and was launched from a civilian vessel in the Black Sea.
The robot can move underwater at a depth of up to 600 meters, has a sailing duration of about 70 hours at a speed of up to 5 knots. With increased transport capacity it can cover 286 nautical miles, almost 500 km.
“The British intelligence service again played a role in the escalation of the war in Ukraine, and new underwater drones have shown their effectiveness,” the same Russian sources note.
A few hours before the attack on the bridge, the Sentinel-2 L1C satellite recorded 4 objects moving at high speed at a distance of 75 km southeast of Fidonisi towards the Crimean coast.
These could hit the Crimean bridge or be the carriers of the drones.
Video: Presentation of REMUS 600
Did an American drone guide the Ukrainian attack?
According to Russian media, on the eve of the Ukrainian attack on the Crimean bridge, an American MQ-9 Reaper drone circled over the Black Sea.
At night, the drone operated in international airspace and could be used to coordinate the actions of Ukrainian special services.
“No more guesswork. It was a naval drone strike. One axis of the bridge fell, the second bent. The bases are intact. At night, a US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance and strike UAV flew over the Black Sea,” Russian sources said.
It is no coincidence that the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, accused Britain and the USA today.
“Today’s attack on the Crimean bridge was carried out by the Kiev regime. This regime is terrorist and has all the characteristics of an international organized crime organization,” noted the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“Decisions are made by Ukrainian officials and the military with the direct involvement of American and British intelligence and politicians. The US and Britain lead a terrorist state structure ,” Zakharova noted.
Watch video
Russia closed the Black Sea: It imposed a naval blockade on Odessa! – Russian Official: “It’s time to take the city”
Russia’s response to the Ukrainian attack on the Kerch bridge
There is intense concern at NATO Headquarters about the situation in the Black Sea after the Ukrainian attack on the Kerch bridge.
Russia withdrew guarantees for the safety of navigation in the Black Sea along with the cancellation of the grain agreement. At the same time, he closed the northwestern part of the Black Sea to civilian ships.
Western analysts and NATO officials express fears of a Russian operation in Odessa. Moscow is already implementing a naval blockade of the city.
Western officials believe that the recent Russian attack with 28 kamikaze drones, a large part of which hit, in addition to Kiev, and the port of Odesa, is no coincidence.
Russia closes the northwestern part of the Black Sea!
In more detail, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the termination of the grain agreement. The coordination center in Istanbul is suspending its operations.
In addition, Moscow has withdrawn all security guarantees and is closing the humanitarian corridor created in the northwestern part of the Black Sea specifically for the passage of ships from Ukrainian ports.
From tomorrow, a temporary dangerous area regime will begin to operate there, which will prohibit the navigation of civilian ships.
As the Russian Foreign Ministry reports, the collective West and Ukraine under its control did not want to fulfill part of the agreement, moreover, Kiev used the humanitarian corridor to carry out terrorist attacks.
(…) the Kiev regime did not fail, under the cover of the maritime humanitarian corridor and navigation, to carry out provocations and attacks against Russian political and military installations. (…) Ports controlled by Kiev and a safe corridor opened by Russia for the export of Ukrainian grain were used for terrorist attacks (…) the foreign ministry said in a statement.
It is emphasized that Russia will be ready to consider returning to the agreement, but only after all requirements are met.
Western media: Scenarios of Russian naval blockade after the end of the “grain agreement”
Various scenarios of a naval blockade of Odessa were considered by Western media such as Covert Shores.
As expert analyst HI Sutton points out, the Russian navy can use surface warships, including several corvettes that remain in the Black Sea.
Merchant ships originating from Ukraine may move along the coasts and then enter Romania.
This will force Russian ships to move closer into range of the Harpoon and Neptune anti-ship missiles in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as Ukrainian artillery, air force and naval drones.
But it would be much more difficult for Ukraine to react against Russian submarines.
The northern waters of the Black Sea are relatively shallow, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have anti-submarine weapons.
Therefore, Russian submarines will be inaccessible to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, being under water. Their torpedoes are perfect for attacking merchant ships.
Russia can also use aircraft such as Su-34 bombers.
It is possible that their flights will force the Armed Forces of Ukraine to move part of their air defense systems, which may be beneficial for the Russian Armed Forces.
Russian troops can use Bastion-P and Bal anti-ship missiles in the naval blockade if merchant ships start moving into open waters.
At the same time, Russian troops will not necessarily be involved in sinking merchant ships.
It is very likely that operations will be carried out in international waters using warships and helicopters.
Finally, there is the possibility that Russia may attack ships without claiming responsibility. For this, maritime drones or sea mines may be used.
A possible scenario is that the attacks on merchant ships will not take place in the Black Sea, but in the Mediterranean Sea. Russian ships and submarines are based in the Syrian city of Tartus.
Grain storage facilities located in Ukraine may also be targeted.
Russian Official: We need Kherson, Nikolaev and Odessa!
The head of the Crimean parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, commented on the night attack on the Crimean bridge.
“Tonight, the terrorist regime in Kiev committed a new crime – they attacked the Crimean bridge. In Kiev, they could not help but know that the automobile section of the crossing is an exclusively civilian facility. But that never stopped the terrorists. It won’t stop them in the future.
They can only be stopped by the deprivation of the physical ability to deliver such blows, as well as the inevitability of retribution for any such blow.
In return – we will follow the news. Our Defense Secretary has promised strikes against criminal decision-making centers.
As for depriving the Kiev regime of the opportunity to strike Crimea, for this it is necessary to take the entire Black Sea coast under our control, to liberate Kherson, Nikolaev and Odessa.
And no agreement with them. They will certainly use any deal to hit us. They have no success on the battlefield, so they will go on terrorist activities.
I urge you to remain calm. The rail line was not damaged by the impact, Crimea is connected to mainland Russia by a land corridor in the north, and we have experience operating ferries. We are not isolated.
I am sure that the consequences of the terrorist attack will be eliminated immediately. And the terrorists will be rewarded,” said the Russian official and politician.
