Crimean Bridge Cut Off: Russia Seeks New Supply Routes
Russian authorities have stopped using the Crimean Bridge to supply troops in Ukraine following attacks by the armed forces, according to DW.
A Ukrainian OSINT agency, Molfar, reached this conclusion after analysing satellite imagery.
Molfar analysed satellite images captured by Maxar, a commercial satellite imagery provider, in 2023 and 2024. The data revealed that cargo and passenger trains operated on the bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea between May and September 2023. The only instance of a train carrying military equipment occurred in July 2023 at the Taman station.
No cargo trains transporting military equipment were registered on the railway section of the Crimean Bridge from February to April 2024, analysts say. Their data indicates that only one cargo train carrying fuel tanks crossed the bridge in February 2024.
"Satellite images confirm that the Russians are no longer transporting military supplies by rail on the bridge," the analysts said. "Therefore, there is no longer a strategic justification for attacking the Crimean Bridge at this time."
Concurrently, the Russian Federation is constructing alternative railway routes in occupied Ukrainian territories to connect annexed Crimea with mainland Russia, Molfar reported.
Analysts claim that Russia stopped using the Crimean Bridge for military purposes after July 17, 2023. A drone attack launched by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on that date destroyed several sections of the bridge.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
