09 October 2022, Sunday, 20:01 1159

Fighters, Boats, Divers And Dolphins. Russian Media Tell How Crimean Bridge Is Guarded

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

The Russian publication Meduza writes that the Crimean Bridge is one of the most protected places in the world - it is allegedly guarded from the ground, from the sky, from the sea, under water and even from space.

In particular, according to the publication, the entrances to the Crimean Bridge on both sides are guarded by special units of the Russian Guard (they were supposed to inspect cars entering the crossing for explosives and illegal cargo, but it is noted that the inspections were selective).

According to the Russian Ministry of Transport, vans and trucks are illuminated with the help of special systems that can allegedly "detect even a nut in the interior of the car or see what the driver took with him for lunch." In addition, observation points were also set up on the bridge itself.

In the case of an emergency, a special emergency response team must arrive on the scene within minutes to eliminate the accident and understand what happened.

The Russian Guard is allegedly assisted by special border control forces of the FSB and anti-sabotage groups on land and on water.

According to the publication, small mobile boats of several projects protect the bridge on the water: anti-sabotage boats of the Grachonok type (equipped with machine guns, grenade launchers or even Igla missile systems), boats of the Mangust project (equipped with machine guns and missiles, but they are mainly used for interception of ships and inspection).

In addition, it is reported that, if necessary, BK-16 amphibious boats (the same missiles, machine guns and 19 paratroopers on board), Afalina and Sargan motor boats can be used.

To protect the bridge from ramming, special cylindrical concrete fortifications were built in front of its piers, which will prevent ships from sailing close to the piers of the crossing.

From land, the ships are supported by the coastal missile complex Bal, equipped with anti-ship missiles with a range of up to 260 kilometers, and the modern complex Bastion with cruise missiles Oniks.

Also, according to Meduza, the bridge is also protected under water - to prevent mining or undermining of the bridge supports, military divers and special groups of the Black Sea Fleet are constantly in the water. And the Plavnik water area control system supposedly allows to detect a person at a distance of 2 km, and a ship at a distance of 3 km.

Special sound traps - the Amulet-P system - also work to protect the bridge.

In addition to divers and traps, specially trained dolphins are allegedly involved in the protection of the Crimean Bridge.

Russia allegedly monitors the bridge from the special satellite Kosmos-K. And the sky above the crossing is regularly patrolled by Russian Su-27 fighters and Il-38 anti-submarine reconnaissance aircraft.

On the ground, the bridge is protected by anti-aircraft systems of different ranges: the S-400 Triumf missile system and the Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft gun.

It is also reported that radar systems are involved in the protection of the bridge: Podsolnukh (it is located in the Crimea and is able to detect targets at a distance of 450 km) and the station Voronezh-DM (covers a distance of 6,000 km).

The publication notes that, according to the BBC's calculations, RUB 700 million were spent in 2022, plus another RUB 618 million - on various technical security systems.

According to the Russian publication, the guarding of the railway part of the bridge cost about the same amount.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on the morning of October 8, a fire broke out near the Kerch Bridge in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin is trying to shift the blame for the explosions on the Crimean Bridge to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.