Russia intensifies defences as Ukrainian drones target Crimea
On the morning of 6th December, Russian occupation authorities in Crimea decided to close the Crimean Bridge for a few hours. The Kremlin admitted it was attacked by maritime drones. Explosions were heard, among other places, in the city of Kerch, where other important targets chosen by Ukrainians might have been located. To protect against the drones, the Russians are erecting additional towers next to the bridge, on which they place their Pantsir-S1 systems.
"An attack by Ukrainian maritime drones is underway in the Kerch Strait. Windows are shaking from the explosions," reported the Crimean Wind channel on Telegram in the morning, simultaneously stating that Russian troops were firing at Ukrainian drones from the shore, water, and air.
Another attack on the Crimean Bridge
The same news channel also reported that the occupants’ actions seriously impeded communication in the Kerch and bridge area. As a result, vessels located in this area were displayed on interactive maritime maps as if they were on land.
The Russian Ministry of Defence announced that they managed to shoot down one drone flying over Crimea and eliminate two more maritime drones that were attacking from the sea. However, the Kremlin remains silent on reports in Ukrainian media suggesting that the shipyard "Zaliv" might have also been the target of the attack.
Maritime drones: A nightmare for Russians
Maritime drones play a very significant role in the clashes on the Black Sea. It is mainly through such unmanned vehicles that Ukrainians managed to eliminate several valuable Russian ships. The losses were so significant that the Kremlin decided to relocate the main "headquarters" of the Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk.
Initially, Ukrainian water drones were mainly improvised constructions with limited capabilities. Over time, however, they developed units such as Sea Baby, Mykola-3, Magura V5 (Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus), and the latest Stalker 5.0. These types of unmanned vehicles can carry up to hundreds of kilograms of explosive payload and operate over long distances (over 500 kilometres).
Turning the bridge area into a fortress
To protect against drones, the Russians are now using not only barges and floating buoys along the bridge. They are also erecting high towers on which they install the Pantsir-S1 air defence system. Another such construction appeared at the beginning of December this year.
