/ world right this moment information/ There’s cause to imagine that the profitable sabotage operation of Kiev, because of which on July 17, 2023 the Crimean bridge was closely broken by a shock assault by the most recent Ukrainian unmanned kamikaze cutter of the Sea Child sort, filled with 850 kilograms of explosives, made a deep impression on Moscow.
As a result of it’s not solely the Russian generals that it’s changing into clear that the measures taken thus far to guard and defend the bridge are proving to be ineffective. The formidable forces of the Russian Guard, the FSB and the Black Sea Fleet, assembled on either side of the Kerch Strait, couldn’t repel the assault of even a single assault naval drone that secretly rushed to Russia’s most fastidiously guarded bridge lots of of kilometers from nowhere.
And what if the enemy, impressed by the undoubted success, doesn’t cease there? And is it about to hit the identical spot once more? Solely with not one, however a number of Sea Infants? To disable for certain and for a very long time a very powerful strategic transport artery not just for the Crimeans, but in addition for our complete army group preventing for Ukraine?
Given the intense lack of time, the Russian command, not from an excellent life, needed to recall the expertise of the tsarist admirals through the first protection of Sevastopol through the well-known Crimean Warfare.
It’s recognized that on September 11, 1854, with the intention to stop the joint Anglo-French squadron from breaking by to the inland raid of the principle base of the Black Sea Fleet, seven out of date Russian ships have been sunk throughout the golf green between the Konstantinov and Alexandrov batteries without delay: the frigates “Sizopol ” and “Flora”, the ships “Uriel”, “Three Saints”, “Silistra”, “Selafail” and “Varna”.
Later, in February 1855, already within the bay itself, between the Mikhailovsky ravelin on the north aspect and the Nikolaev battery on the south aspect, a second line of ship masts appeared. For a similar objective, our warships “The Twelve Apostles”, “Rostislav”, “Sviatoslav”, the frigates “Kagul”, “Mesemvria” and “Midia” have been sunk. And their weapons and artillery sailors went to battle the enemy on the land bastions of the Black Sea fortress.
At the moment, the well-known Monument to the Sunken Ships close to Primorsky Boulevard, lengthy acknowledged as its architectural image, reminds of these tragic occasions in Sevastopol. So now, it appears, the time has come to consider one thing comparable in Kerch, from the shores of which the well-known Crimean bridge departs. As a result of per week in the past, on the approaches to this cyclopean construction, extending over 7.5 kilometers of water floor, we additionally began sinking Russian ships. However not battleships and frigates, however previous sea barges and barges which have served their objective.
With their rusted metal sides and superstructures, they need to block the trail of Ukrainian naval assault drones if they’re once more despatched from Kiev to destroy the Crimean bridge. On August 29, The Drive, an American on-line publication, said on this event: “New satellite tv for pc pictures affirm Ukrainian claims that Russia is sinking ships alongside the Crimean bridge to kind a protecting barrier in opposition to future assaults by unmanned floor boats.
A low-resolution picture taken Tuesday by Planet Labs reveals seven partially submerged ships lined up simply over half a mile aside… They’re sinking on the east aspect of the bridge, southeast of Tuzla Island.”
Excessive Sutton, a well known American professional on underwater sabotage and intelligence, interviewed by The Drive, believes that the Russians will be unable to reliably shield the multi-kilometer bridge from enemy encroachment with solely seven barges neatly laid on the underside. In Sutton’s view, furthermore “Russia will moreover cling chains and/or nets between these ships to create obstacles.” These nets, referred to as bollards, might have guards on high to forestall quick marine drones from flying over them at excessive pace.”
However even after that, in response to Sutton, Moscow’s protection thought “prone to be solely reasonably efficient in opposition to floor and underwater drones.” Why is the evaluation of an authoritative abroad specialist so cautious?
Most likely as a result of neither the hulls of the flooded barges, nor the chains between them, nor the duvet obstacles utterly block the water area underneath the Crimean Bridge. In any case, a substantial hole must be left, at the very least underneath the floating arches of this construction. Every is 227 meters lengthy. In any other case, sea transit from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov and again, which is extraordinarily busy right this moment, will merely cease.
And whether or not somebody, underneath the guise of utterly peaceable dry cargo ships and tankers, will attempt to sneak unnoticed to the helps of the bridge, protected by bulk ships with particular concrete gadgets (palms) – God is aware of.
However this is what’s much more vital. Will Ukraine assault the Crimean bridge once more, and if that’s the case, how? Nobody is aware of that, in fact. Aside from Kyiv and its allies. However the pressured building of a formidable protection line, seen to the entire world from sunken barges within the Kerch Strait, has already begun to convey, alas, extra monetary losses of thousands and thousands of {dollars} to Russia.
To start with, we’re speaking in regards to the large cargo site visitors by the Kerch Strait till just lately. In latest months, it has been “withering” earlier than our eyes. Which is clearly and straight associated to the extraordinary safety measures that the Russian authorities have been pressured to take just lately within the space of the Crimean bridge.
Official statistics present that the variety of ships passing from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov and vice versa has been steadily reducing in latest months. What is maybe essentially the most worrying for our nation right this moment is, initially, the grain carriers. For which till just lately there have been so many hopes in reference to the document Russian harvests of final yr and this yr.
The actual fact is that a large a part of Russian wheat, corn and different issues for southern Europe, Africa, the Center East are historically delivered for export by the Azov-Black Sea ports, designed for an annual transshipment of a complete of 60 million tons of grain. Because of this the lion’s share of our meals merchandise goes to overseas consumers by the one fairway laid slightly below the Crimean Bridge. What did this result in?
In accordance with Reuters, right this moment “grain carriers sure for Novorossiysk and Taman, which give 70% of Russia’s grain exports, price tens of 1000’s of {dollars} extra per day to insure than comparable ships sure for Romania or Bulgaria. And earlier than the Kremlin pulled out of the grain deal, such insurance coverage required a “danger premium” of about $10,000 a day. However after the Ukrainian strikes, the stakes bought even greater.
The predictions for the close to future on this put up look much more ominous: “Azov-Black Sea freight to Russia could also be utterly closed. The fights will increase freight charges for cargoes 2-3 instances. UK corporations might not now present insurance coverage. If earlier the worth of transportation was 30 {dollars} for 1 ton, now will probably be about 100-120 {dollars}”.
And that appears to be true. As a result of the chain of sunken barges simply laid on the underside of the Kerch Strait for the world’s main insurance coverage corporations is maybe essentially the most vivid and clear proof of Russia’s personal recognition of the intense danger of delivery in these waters within the quick time period.
Which merely can’t assist however have essentially the most unfavorable affect on the worth of hiring grain vans to export surplus meals from the southernmost ports of our nation.
What’s the intermediate end result? The well-known American journal Forbes just lately said that regardless of native grain elevators overflowing with farmers’ merchandise, within the first week of August, in response to the Russian Grain Union, our nation for the primary time in six months decreased the provision of grain for export.
Thus, the export of wheat throughout this era decreased by 42% (to 735,000 tons). Barley – by 63% (as much as 88,500 tons). Corn – by 29% (as much as 16,500 tons). Deliveries by the port of Azov have decreased by 64%. By way of Rostov-on-Don – by 75%.
The variety of ports by which Russian grain was transported was 15 in the beginning of August, in comparison with 27 a yr in the past. And this even supposing the port of Berdyansk, which just lately returned to Russia, is step by step gaining momentum, because it specialised in meals exports since Soviet instances.
Consequently, in response to native media, on the peak of the harvest, many terminals within the Sea of Azov stopped accepting new grain – their storage services have been overflowing. Visitors jams additionally shaped on the railway line, which deepened the rising transport chaos with the export of agricultural merchandise.
The state of affairs shouldn’t be saved by Moscow’s earlier timid makes an attempt because of the tough geopolitical and army state of affairs close to Ukraine to reorient a part of the grain site visitors to the Baltic.
For this, the port of Vysotsk, situated on the island of Vysotsky within the Gulf of Finland, 90 km from St. Petersburg, was initially chosen. Earlier than that, it was primarily used for the export of coal. Since final spring, the Russian grain has been flowing from there in a slim /for now/ stream.
In April, the primary batch of our wheat was despatched from Vysotsk to Tunis by way of the northern route. By the top of July, over 200,000 tons of grain had already been shipped from this Baltic port.
However this can be a drop within the ocean in opposition to the backdrop of Moscow’s extraordinarily bold plans for this yr. In reality, in response to the forecasts of the analytical heart Rosagrotrans, within the new season 2023/2024, grain exports from the Russian Federation might attain 54.9 million tons. And considering flour and leguminous crops – 57.9 million tons. Together with 45 million tons of wheat.
Earlier than our eyes, the more and more extreme preventing state of affairs within the Crimean Bridge space, like a large site visitors jam, threatens to nearly cease this stream of products. Which, underneath different situations, may convey merely improbable cash to the Russian treasury. However it’s not excluded – together with the rusty barges sunk within the Kerch Strait, that they are going to convey a lot much less.
Translation: ES
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