Ukraine Decoy Missiles Spark Crimea Attack Fears

Ukrainian forces are preparing to attack the Kerch Strait Bridge, which connects Russia with the annexed Crimean peninsula, the Rybar Telegram channel, which has links to Russia's defense ministry, said this week.

Kyiv may have used U.S.-made ADM-160 Miniature Air-Launched Decoy (MALD) missiles this week to detect air defense systems and radars in preparation for another attack on the Black Sea peninsula, which was annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014, the military blogger said.

The missiles, which are designed to distract and confuse enemy air defenses, are capable of mimicking a number of aircraft on radar screens.

The Kerch Strait Bridge serves as a key supply route for Russia's forces. Ukraine struck the 19-kilometer (12-mile) road and rail bridge in October 2022 and again in July 2023. The bridge is crucial to sustaining Moscow's military offensives in southern Ukraine, and Kyiv has vowed future strikes on the structure as it seeks to recapture the peninsula.

"Yesterday was memorable for the fact that alarms were sounded several times in the southern Russian territories, either because of the takeoff of tactical aircraft or because of the appearance of unidentified objects on air defense systems," the Telegram channel said on Wednesday.

"The exact reason remains unclear. But, as a rule, when this happens, it is associated with the launch of decoy missiles. And it was to them that the air defense stations probably responded," it said.

Rybar said an attack on the Kerch Bridge could happen before the inauguration of Putin on May 7. The Russian leader last month secured his fifth term in office.

"Considering the love of the Ukrainian authorities and their curators for symbolism, the target once again may be the Crimean Bridge, the attention to which is very high," Rybar said.

The analysis comes after Russian military expert Vladislav Shurygin said on state TV that he believes Ukraine will attack the Kerch Strait Bridge on May 7.

During an appearance on Full Contact with Vladimir Solovyov, Shurygin said that a Ukrainian strike on a large Russian airfield in Dzhankoy, Crimea, on April 17, served as a rehearsal for a future Ukrainian attack on the bridge.

Shurygin claimed Kyiv used seven ATACMS missiles in the attack, and that the strike was a rehearsal to test how Russia's air defense works.

Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former commanding general of United States Army Europe, previously told Newsweek that the targeting of the bridge is part of Kyiv's multi-domain counteroffensive to reclaim occupied territories, including Crimea.

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