Russian Black Sea Fleet increases and continues manoeuvres along southern coast of Crimea

ACCORDING to reports coming out of Ukraine on Friday, October 14, the group of Russian Black Sea Fleet ships has grown as they continue manoeuvres along the southern coast of Crimea.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet now consists of 15 ships and boats in the Black Sea off the southern coast of Crimea, the Operational Command “Pivden” (South) reported.

“In the Black Sea, during a moderate storm, the enemy ship group has grown to 15 units, which continue manoeuvres along the southern coast of Crimea,” it wrote.

“There are three Caliber carriers on combat duty, one of which is underwater. The total number of missile equipment is up to 20 missiles.”

It added: “Ukraine’s Defence Forces continue to perform anti-paratroop defence tasks along the dangerous areas of the Black Sea coast and covering the state border of Ukraine with the unrecognised Transnistrovsk Republic.

“Given the development of the environment and predicted tactics of the enemy’s actions, strikes from the sky remain maximum likely, both with the use of aviation and unmanned aircraft.”

Russia has reportedly been reinforcing its Black Sea Fleet around Crimea in the days since the attack on the Crimean Bridge.

On Wednesday, October 12, Russia’s FSB announced that following investigations from the Russian Investigative Committee, which was set up by Russian President Vladimir Putin in the wake of the Crimean Bridge explosion, eight arrests were made.

“The organiser of the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge was the Ukrainian Defence Ministry’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, its head Kyrylo Budanov, employees and agents, in addition, five Russian nationals, three Ukrainian nationals and an Armenian have been detained,” the Federal Security Service’s Centre for Combating Terrorism said at the time.

The National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC) said that “on the morning of October 8, a truck explosion occurred on the Crimean bridge, causing seven fuel tanks of a railway train to catch fire.”

“Two vehicle spans of the bridge partially collapsed. The arch over its navigable part was not damaged,” the NAC said.

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, three people died as a result of the explosion, and the “Ukrainian special services were the ones who ordered and carried out the attack.”

It added: “The explosive device was camouflaged in rolls of construction polyethene film on 22 pallets with a total weight of 22,770 kilograms and shipped in early August this year from the Odesa seaport to Ruse in Bulgaria under contract number 02/08/2022 between Translogistics UA LLC (Kiev) and Baltex Capital S.A. (Ruse).

“Ukrainian citizens Tsyurkalo Mikhail Vladimirovich, Kovach Denis Olegovich, Solomko Roman Ivanovich, Georgian citizens Inosaridze Sandro, a broker named “Levan” and Armenian citizen Terchanyan Artur were involved in organizing the shipment from Bulgaria to Poti port (Georgia) and then to Armenia.”

According to the FSB, “between September 29 and October 3, the cargo was cleared in Yerevan at the Transalliance terminal in accordance with the EAEU rules and documents were swapped, after which the consignor was already “GU AR JI GROUP” LLC (Armenia, Alaverdi) and the consignee was “Leader” LLC (Moscow).”

Due to this information, it was announced on Thursday, October 13, that the National Security Service of Armenia had opened a criminal case on the “terrorist attack” on the Crimean bridge.

“Information was published in the mass media that the explosives used to carry out the terrorist attack on the Red Sea of ​​Crimea on October 8, 2022, were hidden in a truck driven by an RA citizen, who had entered the Republic of Armenia from abroad before that, and then: travel to the Russian Federation,” the security service wrote at the time.

“In order to verify the accuracy of the information received and to clarify all the circumstances of the case [about the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge], a criminal case was initiated in the investigative department of the National Security Service of Armenia in connection with complicity in international terrorism, smuggling of explosives across the border of the EAEU by a group of persons, as well as forgery of documents.”

It added: “The preliminary investigation in the criminal proceedings continues, in order to find out the real circumstances of the case, urgent investigative and operational-investigative complex measures are being implemented using all possible means of the legal toolkit, the results of which the National Security Service of RA will provide relevant information to the public, as necessary.”

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