Satellite images show Russia’s Shield Bridge from Ukrainian naval drones

• New satellite images show how Russia has continued to add defenses to protect the Kerch bridge.
• Russia has placed additional barriers nearby to protect it from Ukrainian naval drones.
• It also built two towers for air defense systems to protect the precious bridge from other threats.

New satellite images show how Russia has stepped up its efforts to protect a key bridge from Ukrainian attacks, including its exploding naval drones.

The images, captured last weekend by Maxar Technologies and obtained by Business Insider, reveal a growing buildup of defenses around the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia to the occupied Crimean peninsula.

The 12-mile-long bridge was once an important supply route for the Russian military, but it is primarily a symbol of Russia’s control of Crimea. It has been the victim of several high-profile Ukrainian attacks, including a naval drone strike.

Russia began deploying barges on the south side of the bridge in early May to protect the structure and shipping channel from future Ukrainian naval drone attacks. The previously installed barriers were damaged by storms, according to Western intelligence.

By June, the safeguards had been increased to include additional barges and floating boom protection that ran parallel to the bridge. But new images captured on Saturday reveal a significant increase in the number of barges protecting the bridge.

Ukraine has used its fleet of domestically manufactured naval drones to wreak havoc on Russian warships and other Black Sea Fleet assets. The threat has prompted Moscow to add defenses such as those on the Kerch Bridge to the main ports of Sevastopol and Novorossiysk.

Brady Africk, an open source intelligence analyst and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, first noted the increased barrier protection in a Sunday post on X and noted the drastic difference between early May and late September .

The new barriers are not the only protective measures Russia has taken to protect the bridge. Satellite images captured on Saturday show two Pantsir air defense systems near the structure.

Maxar said the towers for these systems were being built between August 18 and 23. Their construction suggests that Russia is not only concerned about naval threats to the bridge from below. He also wants to protect the structure from above.

The bridge has been hit by a truck bomb before. Russia has claimed that Ukraine targeted the bridge with US-supplied ballistic missiles, but said the attack was unsuccessful. Kyiv has also armed its naval drones with missiles and rockets, extending the threat beyond the surface of the water, creating further challenges.

Moscow began building the Kerch bridge after it illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. The bridge is a prized achievement of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is a symbol of the Kremlin’s desire to maintain its occupation of Crimea forever.

Ukraine previously vowed to destroy the bridge because of its role as a key supply and logistics route to support Russian military activities in Crimea after the 2022 invasion, and Kiev has shown its desire through multiple attacks in the area. .

However, taking the bridge out now would be less militarily effective and more symbolic because Russia relies on it less often to support its troops in Crimea than it did earlier in the war.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian navy said in June that most of the cargo is transported by ferry. Kyiv has also targeted these operations.