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The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.

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Russia

Storm damages Russian anti-drone barriers near Crimean Bridge, satellite images reveal

2 min read
Storm damages Russian anti-drone barriers near Crimean Bridge, satellite images reveal
A view of the Crimean Bridge, built following Russia's illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea. (Photo by Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)

A storm in the Kerch Strait damaged barriers protecting the illegal Crimean Bridge from Ukrainian maritime drones, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on Dec. 26 with reference to recent satellite images.

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.

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 storm also sank two Russian tankers, Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239, in mid-December, according to Russian outlets Mash and Baza.

The number of deployed barriers in the Kerch Strait has halved over the past month, according to a Dec. 10 report by the Center of Journalistic Investigations.

In September, another storm washed ashore protective barriers made of plastic and metal barrels, underscoring their vulnerability to severe weather.

These incidents have further reduced Russia's ability to defend the 19-kilometer-long bridge, an important supply route for Russian forces.

Constructed after Russia’s illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014, the bridge has been a repeated target of Ukrainian strikes, suffering significant damage in October 2022 and July 2023.

It remains a focal point of the conflict and a subject of legal proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration between Ukraine and Russia.

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Tim Zadorozhnyy

News Editor

Tim Zadorozhnyy is a news editor at The Kyiv Independent. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations, focusing on European Studies. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa. After moving to Warsaw, he joined the Belarusian opposition media outlet NEXTA, starting as a news anchor and later advancing to the position of managing editor.

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