While Ukraine unveiled a twelve-point plan on April 2 to “derussify” Crimea, photographs recently published by the washington post show the defenses built on this territory by Russia, after having annexed it illegally in 2014. “Apparently, the Russian military understands that Crimea will have to be defended in the near future,” Russian military analyst Ian Matveev told the American newspaper. .
After weeks of digging, the area around the small town of Medvedivka, near a crossing point to mainland Ukraine, is thus covered with an elaborate system of trenches stretching for several kilometres. The passages are dug into the ground at angles to give soldiers a greater range of fire. Nearby are other fortifications, including deep ditches designed to trap tanks and heavy vehicles. Similar defenses are also present near Vitino, a town on the western coast of Crimea.
Russia uses the BTM-3, Soviet-era trenchers capable of digging 800 meters of trenches per hour even when the ground is frozen. “The US military once marveled at these machines, writing in an internal 1980 report that nothing comparable existed in the US, Europe or Japan,” recalls the Washington Post.
Clandestine operations
If Ukraine has announced its ambitions to take back the territory, geography could be the Russians’ best asset to protect themselves against it. Only two roads connect Crimea to the rest of the country: the M17 highway to the west, now bunkered, and the M18 highway to the east, over a bridge that can be demolished. The Syvach or Putrid Sea, a set of marshes and lagoons north of Crimea, limits large-scale military maneuvers. To the east, the Arabat spit is mostly criss-crossed by unpaved roads. These topographical factors, coupled with military defenses, make a recapture of the peninsula by brute force alone unlikely.
However, the Ukrainians have been carrying out clandestine operations since the start of the Russian invasion, such as the attack on the Crimean bridge in early October 2022, the largest bridge in Europe (19 km) built in just three years and symbol of the annexation of the peninsula, although Kiev never claimed responsibility for the attack. In an interview with L’Express on January 15, retired American General Ben Hodges believed that a new assault was possible. “We will soon see more damage to airstrips, bridges and communication routes. There are only two roads connecting Crimea to Russia: the Kerch bridge which I am sure will will be destroyed again soon, and the so-called “land bridge”, which connects the peninsula to Russia via Mariupol and Melitopol,” he said. And to conclude: “This road is within range of Himars rocket launchers, which means that it will be subject to continued disruption. Destroying this line of communication is a prerequisite for any successful Ukrainian attack.”