Russia is fortifying Crimea, fearing Ukraine will launch a major offensive to take it back

As the Ukrainian authorities “sworn” to return the territories they lost, Russia is stepping up its defenses, especially in Crimea, a peninsula that it annexed after a referendum in 2014 and which is now one of the most heavily fortified areas in the war zone.

After several weeks of earthworks in the area of ​​the small town of Medvedovka, not far from the isthmus connecting the mainland with the peninsula, a complex network of trenches and defensive structures several tens of kilometers long was formed. At the same time, there are other fortifications nearby, designed to stop heavy military equipment and tanks.

Satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies published by the Washington Post shows that Russia has built dozens of such defensive lines. “The Russian military clearly understands that in the near future they will have to defend Crimea,” said Russian military analyst Yan Matveev.

Russia began to prepare Crimea for the Ukrainian offensive

Miles of trenches have been dug on Crimean beaches to protect them from #Ukrainian landing troops. In just a few weeks dozens of miles of trenches have been dug on the beaches of the peninsula, The Washington Post… pic.twitter.com/vht8YnEKRj

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 3, 2023

These fortifications were deployed in anticipation of the alleged spring counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In just a few weeks, Russia has built miles of fortifications near Vitino, a settlement on the western coast of Crimea.

The BTM-3, a Soviet-era trencher, digs at about 800 meters per hour even in frozen ground. To carry out these works, the Russian authorities were looking for human resources through Internet ads, for example, builders, with pay at the level of more than $ 90 a day, CNN reports.

The Russians began building defense buildings in the temporarily occupied Crimea in November 2022. The so-called head of the Russian administration of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said that a “large-scale line of defense” was being built, but it was “non-standard and asymmetric.”

The first defensive structures were noticed in the area of ​​the Perekop Isthmus back in 2022. In the spring of 2023, there were more fortifications:

• immediately beyond the administrative border, in the area of ​​the Russian checkpoint “Armyansk” and in the area of ​​the Perekop shaft, a double line of trenches was built;
• behind Chongar, near the village of Turgenevo, an extensive system of fortifications is visible on both sides of the E-105 highway and near Lake Sivash.

Ukrainian American intelligence reported that it is the North of Crimea that is being strengthened the most. Further, beyond the Perekop isthmus deep into the Crimean peninsula, new lines of defense are being created:

• a network of trenches is located on both sides of the E-97 highway and near the village of Filatovka;
• outside the village of Ishun, near the road towards the village of Vorontsovka, instead of a forest belt, there are also now trenches.

There are also new fortifications behind the Armenian peninsula: the Crimean Wind telegram channel showed that trenches are being dug along the road from the village of Ishun to Voenka. Also, at the bridge over the Chatyrlyk River, more timber for formwork was delivered.

In addition, 4 kilometers of the local beach have already been mined in the village of Mezhvodnoe, there are three strongholds there. Also, the defense has already appeared:

• on the beaches near Evpatoria – at least 7 kilometers of trenches have already been dug there;
• closer to the center of the peninsula – near Guards, where there is a military air base and an airfield;
• near Belbek airport;
• near the village of Batalnoye and Primorskoye, where the “dragon’s teeth” are in three rows.

With defensive structures, the Russians are actually cutting off the Kerch Island. Near the E-97 highway outside the village of Batalnoe, new trenches and caponiers for equipment are visible.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised to return Crimea to Ukrainian control, but his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has made it clear that this will never happen. The geography of the region creates serious problems for attackers from the mainland. Crimea is connected to the Ukrainian mainland by a narrow marshy isthmus that could stop an attack.

However, historical experience shows that even during the Russian Empire, 1736during the civil war 1920 year, and during the Second World War, both from Germany and from the USSR, this isthmus could not stop the advancing.

At the same time, it should be taken into account that in modern Crimea, the vast majority of the 4 million population of the peninsula categorically does not want to “return” to Ukraine. For them, Kyiv provided for punitive measures, deportation and filtration camps.

Source link