"Crimea will turn into an island." How Russia uses the "land corridor" in southern Ukraine and how vulnerable it is

 

On the morning of July 17, there was an explosion on the Kerch bridge that connects the occupied Crimea with Russia. Because of this, traffic on the bridge is completely suspended. At the same time, rail traffic was first suspended, but resumed on the same day. Sergei Aksenov, the so-called Russian-appointed head of Crimea, urged residents and guests of the peninsula to refrain from traveling over this bridge and to choose an alternative land route through the occupied regions of southern Ukraine.

On the same day, during a meeting with Russian officials, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, stated that he was asking for "concrete proposals to improve the security of the Kerch Bridge". He also noted that he "gave instructions to provide assistance to people who cannot yet cross this bridge and who have found themselves in a difficult situation." Putin also stated that the damage to the Kerch bridge allegedly does not make sense from a military point of view, because the bridge has allegedly "not been used for military transport for a long time."

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Kusnulin reported on July 17 that one arch of the bridge was completely destroyed and could not be rebuilt, and the other was damaged. Two-way traffic is planned to continue on one side until September 15, and on the other side until November 1, Kusnulin said. He also noted that next to the damaged part of the bridge, a temporary bridge with a length of 250 meters will be built. Traffic for passenger vehicles was opened on July 18 according to the reverse scheme.

 

"Curfew cancelled"

 

In connection with the damage to the Kerch bridge and the activation of traffic through the occupied territories of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, the curfew has been lifted on routes that are included in communication with Crimea. The so-called acting governor of the occupied part of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, who was appointed by Russia, reported that the traffic jams at the blockades in the occupied part of the region have been eliminated and that this route is allegedly completely safe.

Saldo also said that the occupation authorities will repair the 60-kilometer section that goes to the peninsula via Armjansk. According to him, "the necessary funds have been found, the contractors have been identified".

Contrary to Saldo's words about the alleged absence of traffic jams at the checkpoints, the Crimean occupation agency "Kriminform" reported on the evening of July 17 that a multi-kilometer column had formed on the border of the Kherson region with the peninsula at the Dzhankoy checkpoint.

The idea of organizing a transport corridor from Crimea through the occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporozhye regions is not new. On July 4, Russian President Putin instructed the head of the Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratiev, and other Russian departments to organize transportation through these regions, as well as to ensure the safe passage of those "going on vacation to Crimea."

 

The "Land Corridor" works

 

Julian Lučko, deputy of the Heniče city council, told "Novosti iz Azov" that the traffic through the occupied part of the Kherson region has increased several times. However, local residents have not yet noticed the movement of Russian military equipment.

"There is a road with one lane in each direction without significant infrastructure. For example, from Melitopol to Berdjansk there was only one gas station, which is relatively considered a high comfort gas station, where there is a toilet, shop, cafe, etc. There was such a gas station in Primorsko. Everything else is simple, and on such a stretch of road it is a very limited resource. The situation is the same from Berdjansk to Mariupol," says Lučko.

 

"Inflow of People"

Road infrastructure improvements are not happening yet, Lučko noted. There are also no restrictions for the local population in the settlements included in the route.

"I haven't heard of any restrictions, but directly in Heničesk and other settlements there are a lot of people who are not locals, and the local residents do not identify them, but the influx of unknown people is large," Lučko added.

Given the hostilities and the Russian occupation of parts of the southern territories of Ukraine, the editorial office cannot obtain official confirmation of the given statements or independently verify them.

 

"Human shield of the occupier"

 

The mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, believes that Russia should move to the "land corridor" of the conquered parts of southern Ukraine, because in this way the Russian army will have a "human shield" from civilians and use it in the defense of the region. The official said this publicly on July 17.

The deputy of the regional council of Zaporizhzhya Sergey Lishenko said that a large number of roads in this direction were repaired in the summer of 2021.

"There is a road with one lane in each direction without significant infrastructure. For example, from Melitopol to Berdjansk there was only one gas station, which, relatively speaking, is considered a high-comfort gas station, where there is a toilet, shop, cafe, etc. There was such a gas station in Primorsko. Everything else is simple, and on such a stretch of road it is a very limited resource. The situation is the same from Berdjansk to Mariupol," says Lishenko.

 

"Crimea will turn into an island"

 

According to Lišenko, this road is not designed for a large number of cars. Now the army of the Russian Federation has the advantage of advancing along these roads and moves mainly at night.

However, land communication between Crimea and other occupied parts of Ukraine is risky for both the military and civilians.

"In fact, the entire load fell on one Čongarski bridge, which was already damaged and was not working for some time, they moved on pontoon crossings. Therefore, if the Ukrainian armed forces can defeat him again, it will further complicate the movement. "If the bridge to Armyansk is destroyed and progress along it is stopped, Crimea will actually turn into an island with all the problems that arise from it," Luchko said.

 

"Complicating traffic in the direction of Novoazovsk"

 

Ana Romanenko, editor-in-chief of the publication "0629" from Mariupol, said that there are no significant traffic jams in the city. But in some areas in Mariupol, as well as in the direction of Novoazovsk, there are traffic complications.

"There is tension on one road. This is the one that stretches from the left bank through Mira Avenue, which the occupiers call Lenin Avenue, towards the village of Manguš and further in the direction of Berdyansk. This road is a transit road, there is no way around it, and now it is very busy, there is a lot of traffic," says the journalist.

Heavy traffic has been noticed on the Novo Azov route for the last six months due to a significant increase in the movement of military equipment and the movement of people in both directions, Romanenko reminded.

"That is, it is not connected with the blowing up of the Crimean bridge. But now the tension there has increased even more, and on July 17 there were big crowds right at the entrance, at the checkpoints. And people said that even there they check luggage and cars especially carefully, so that made it even more difficult to move around," the journalist noted.

 

"Prices have gone up"

 

According to Romanenko, the prices of gasoline and cards for mobile phones immediately jumped in the Mariupol district.

"Prices at gas stations have increased by two to three roubles. Now the price of one liter of 92 class gasoline in Mariupol is 62 to 63 rubles, while a week ago it was around 56 to 58 rubles. And the 95th is close to 70 rubles per liter. They say that in the villages near Mariupol, where transport stops for refueling, people have started selling cards of the mobile operator "Fenix". "They also sell these cards at a very high price, because people who left Crimea and had cards from Russian operators sometimes have problems getting there, and that's why they are forced to buy these Fenix cards," said Romanenko.

The journalist noted that the Russian occupation forces had previously repaired some roads in Mariupol and the district in order to increase the transport of military equipment. In particular, Shevchenko boulevard, which actually connects

the left bank of Mariupol with the exit from the city from the western part, was additionally repaired.

"A large amount of military equipment and people traveled from Novoazovsk through Mariupol and continues to travel. These are trucks and "dragon's teeth" with which they were fortified during the spring and winter, plus military equipment. They were brought to the central district of Mariupolja, and then the equipment went in both directions. "Some of them went in the direction of the south, but the main part went exactly along Shevchenko Boulevard in the direction of Bahmut," added the interlocutor.

"Temporary complication of logistics"

 

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the Kerch Bridge was damaged by an attack by two unmanned aerial vehicles. Ukrainian media sources reported that this attack was organized by the SBU and the Navy. There is no official proof of this data.

However, the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Andrey Yusov noted to Radio Sloboda that the failure in the logistics of the Russian troops, which may arise as a result of the damage to the bridge, contributes to Ukraine's victory in the war with Russia.

Head of security programs at Strategy XXI Center for Global Studies, military expert Pavel Lakiychuk told Novosti Priazovya that the destruction of the Kerch bridge will reduce the possibility of military transport for Russian troops, but only temporarily.

"The more effective the defeat, the longer the period of time, which complicates the enemy's logistics - he is looking for other ways, the better," the expert emphasized.

He recalled last year's attacks on the Kerch Bridge, which for several months made it difficult to supply the Russian army at the front with ammunition, fuel and food.

"This saves the lives of our soldiers. Until they decide something there, this is a good time. And then they find something else and have to work in a new way. In addition to the Crimean bridge, there is also the delivery of ammunition to ships of the Black Sea Fleet from Novorossiysk to Sevastopol and Feodosia. There are military transport planes, as the airports in Crimea are closed to civilian flights only. And the army flies there. Therefore, the impact was qualitative. He dealt damage to the enemy. But it caused as much damage as those who carried it out calculated. And that has an effect," assured Lakijčuk.

The main part of military transport to Crimea is carried out by rail, the expert says.

He believes that the land connection between Crimea and other occupied territories of southern Ukraine will not be popular, because this road passes near the hostilities zone. Therefore, Russia will most likely increase the volume of maritime traffic. Air traffic, in his opinion, will not increase seriously.