– The construction of this railway could potentially become a serious problem for us, says Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov to the Kyiv Independent.
The Russians are building a railway between the large port city of Rostov-na-Donu and the annexed Crimean peninsula. The main purpose is to put in place an alternative to the vulnerable Kerch bridge that crosses the Kerch Strait.
The 19-kilometer-long bridge, which has been subject to frequent attacks from the Ukrainian side, links Russia to the peninsula, which the Kremlin and President Putin annexed in 2014.
Map of the annexed Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula. The Kerch Bridge is seen in the east. According to Yle, the new railway line will come from the north, and will go from the mainland down to Dzhankoj in the north of Crimea and down to Sevastopol in the south-west. (News graphic (GN/NTB))
The new “railway” is being built via occupied Ukrainian areas such as Mariupol, Berdjansk and Melitopol on the way to Crimea. As of today, it is unclear how far the Russians are from completing the new railway, according to the Finnish broadcaster Yle.
– The Russians are not happy with what is happening at the Kerch Bridge. That is why they are trying to strengthen the rail connection, says spokesman Andrij Jusov at the HUR intelligence service to the Kyiv Independent.
Yusov adds that the railway will be “an important target” for Ukrainian forces.
– The new railway is not necessarily an acknowledgment from Moscow that the Kerch Bridge is doomed to collapse, but it shows that the enemy will guard, says Dmytro Pletenschuk, spokesman for the Ukrainian navy, to the Ukrainian TV channel Freedom.
According to Yle, the planned route for Putin’s railway project runs from Rostov-na-Donu (English: Rostov-on-Don) to the Russian naval base in Sevastopol in Crimea, via Mariupol, Berdjansk, Melitopol and Dzhankoj. (Data Wrapper)
Also read: Professors: – Europe, not NATO, must send forces to Ukraine
Ukraine: – In violation of international law
In Moscow, people are convinced that much of the project may soon be nearing completion. But probably only some parts are actually finished, writes Yle, who also refers to https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1771841935596015696. According to this, the Russians should have put in place 60 kilometers of railway in the Mariupol area in the south of Ukraine, on the way to Crimea.
Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, worries about the Russian railway plans. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
Work on the Kerch Bridge began in 2015 and was officially opened in May 2018. Russian President Vladimir Putin drove over the bridge during the opening.
Ukraine’s then Prime Minister Volodymyr Hrojsman stated shortly after the drive became known that the construction of the Kerch Bridge violated international law.
– The Russian occupying power, which has temporarily occupied Crimea, continues to act in violation of international law, he said, according to NTB.
The EU was also critical of the bridge.
– This is yet another violation of Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against Ukraine, said a statement from the EU.
A helicopter drops water to extinguish a fire on the Kerch Bridge in October 2022. The bridge has been under constant attack in recent years. (AP Photo/AP)
Also read: The NATO summit’s hint about Ukraine: – A question of when, not if
Expert: – Putin will in practice surrender everything else
On Sunday, the renowned Russia expert Mark Galeotti told Dagsavisen that Vladimir Putin will “never” let go of Crimea.
– It will be very, very difficult for Putin to give up Crimea in the future. Then something very special must have happened on the battlefield. Remember, this is a man who is thinking about his political and historical legacy, Galeotti said.
Mark Galeotti is a historian, researcher and author, and heads the consulting firm Mayak Intelligence. The Briton is considered one of the world’s leading experts on international crime and security policy, with Russia as a special field. (Private)
– In practice, Putin wants to surrender everything but Crimea, in my view, he added.
Ukraine is constantly pursuing targets in Crimea, and as mentioned, the Kerch Bridge has been the subject of several attacks from the Ukrainian side. Last summer, the bridge was attacked with both air and sea drones, according to NTB.
Also read: Putin “had” to take Crimea. Russia expert answers why
– Madness from Russia
In March this year, Kremlin and Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the annexation of Crimea ten years ago was “fully legal”.
The move made Ukrainian-Estonian law professor Evhen Tsybulenko furious.
– It is hardly worth commenting on such madness and propaganda on the part of Russia. A number of resolutions from, among others, the UN, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have explained the situation from the perspective of international law, Tsybulenko pointed out to Dagsavisen.
Russia and President Vladimir Putin annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014. Eight years later, he and the Kremlin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters)
Tsybulenko also addressed the claims about Crimea and Russian identity.
– The claim that Crimea is historically Russian territory is a Kremlin-created myth. Unfortunately, this myth has gained traction in several places, including in the West. But throughout history, the Crimean peninsula has been inhabited by several different civilizations, including Greeks, Romans and the native Crimean Tatars. The peninsula was not even part of what would become Russia in the 18th century, the professor said.
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Crimea and the annexation in 2014
- The Crimean peninsula is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea. The peninsula had 2,351,000 inhabitants in 2018. A Ukrainian population study from 2001 showed that 58 percent of the population of Crimea was ethnic Russian, 24 percent ethnic Ukrainian and 12 percent Muslim Crimean Tatars.
- Ever since the 18th century, the Russian Black Sea Fleet had been based in Sevastopol in the Crimea. The 26,000 square kilometer peninsula on the north coast of the Black Sea was first occupied by the Russians in 1771, under Catherine the Great.
- In 1954, the peninsula was formally transferred from the Soviet Union to the then Soviet Republic of Ukraine. The peninsula remained part of Ukrainian territory after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, before Putin’s takeover in 2014.
- Under the pretext of a military exercise, Russia’s president then sent special forces to the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula in March 2014, and shortly afterwards the government offices and the local parliament were occupied by soldiers without uniform. A pro-Russian politician was installed as “prime minister”. In the wake of the annexation, the Russians also took control of several areas in eastern Ukraine.
- A highly contested referendum on 16 March 2014 ended with a majority in favor of reunification with Russia, and on 18 March the Putin regime declared Crimea a part of Russia. Norway was one of many countries that condemned this, citing that it was in violation of international law, according to NTB.
- Eight years later, Russia and Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
- Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have a stated goal of recapturing Crimea. Putin, on the other hand, has no plans to let that happen.
(Dagsavisen/NTB/Great Norwegian Lexicon)
Russian ships pictured at the Sevastopol naval base on the annexed Crimean peninsula. The picture is from March 2014. (Andrew Lubimov/AP)
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