Russians resume transportation of fuel to Crimea via railroad bridge — ISW

The Russian army has resumed transporting fuel to the temporarily occupied Crimea via an illegally constructed railroad bridge across the Kerch Strait.

This is stated in a new report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

“The video footage from June 8 shows that Russia has begun transporting fuel across the Kerch Strait via a railroad bridge», — the analysts say.

At the end of April this year, Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said that the Russians had not transported fuel across the Kerch railway bridge since March 2024 due to the threat of a Ukrainian strike on the bridge during the passage of a fuel tanker, which could catch fire and possibly destroy the bridge.

According to the Militarny portal, cited by ISW, Ukrainian strikes on rail ferries across the Kerch Strait on May 30 prompted Russian authorities to resume the transportation of fuel across the rail bridge.

It remains unclear whether the Russians will continue to use the Kerch Strait railroad bridge to transport fuel and logistics to the temporarily occupied Crimea in the short to medium term.

“This is likely to ease some logistical constraints as Russia tries to compensate for lost ferries across the strait, but the decision will make the Kerch Strait bridge increasingly vulnerable to strikes from Ukraine, especially if the state of Russian air defense in Crimea deteriorates», — the analysts said.