Russian railroad alternative to Kerch Bridge operational only on one section - Pletenchuk
Dmytro Pletenchuk, head of the Strategic Communications Center at Defense Forces South, said this in a commentary to Ukrinform.
“This corridor has not been fully operational overland. It does not connect Crimea with other occupied territories in southern Ukraine, as the railroad is only under construction. It is being built quite quickly, and the Russians plan to use it primarily to provide military logistics for their southern grouping to supply everything they need for combat operations. It currently operates on only one section [of the railroad]. Nevertheless, they have plans to connect Rostov with Crimea, particularly given that the so-called Crimean Bridge does not currently provide sufficient military logistics,” Pletenchuk said.
He recalled that Russians hardly use the Kerch Bridge railroad anymore, so the new railroad is very important for them.
"We are currently monitoring the situation. It is evident that this section of the railroad, this logistics route, will be situated in closer to the contact line. From one perspective, this facilitates the logistics operations of the enemy. This presents an opportunity for us to neutralize it. The range of our weaponry is, of course, much more extensive in this context than for the destruction of the bridge," the spokesman explained.
At the same time, Pletenchuk noted that one disadvantage exists - "the railroad is restored quite quickly in case of damage."
As previously reported, the Mariupol-Volnovakha railroad runs along the front line and can be hit by the Defense Forces. At the same time, the occupiers are constructing a railway line that will connect Rostov with Malohodne via Hranitne, which will subsequently be linked to the Mariupol-Volnovakha railway line. This is this section of the roadway that the occupiers may use to supply their grouping in the Zaporizhzhia sector if they lose the Crimean Bridge. According to forecasts, trains transporting enemy military equipment and personnel will be able to use this railway line in a few months.
