After repeated strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Crimean Bridge, the Russians are looking for alternative ways to access the occupied Crimea. Russian and Chinese business people connected to the government are discussing the construction of an underwater tunnel that will connect Russia with the peninsula.
Russia wants to build an underwater tunnel connecting it with Crimea
According to the publication, the negotiations, which took place at the end of October, were provoked by Russia's growing concern about the safety of the illegally built bridge across the Kerch Strait. It is a crucial logistics line for the Russian army, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine twice attacked it and remains a vulnerable target for Ukrainian forces.
It is noted that the talks underline Russia's determination to maintain its control over Crimea, which it illegally annexed in 2014. Moscow also has a growing dependence on China as a source of global support.
According to US officials and engineers, such an idea will be challenging. Billions of dollars will need to be spent on the construction, which will take years. Moreover, such works have never been carried out in a combat zone.
But, despite doubts about the plan's viability, according to experts, Russia has clear reasons for its implementation.
Having failed to achieve a decisive victory in the war, Russia faces the risk that Ukraine will try to disrupt the Kerch Bridge in the coming years, an expert on Moscow-Beijing relations. Oleksandr Gabuyev said.
Analysts say the Kerch tunnel is unlikely to be completed in time to help Russia in its military efforts. Moscow may see it as a long-term investment that aims to provide a secure connection to a territory that can be contested for decades.
The project would also create political and financial risks for China, which has never officially recognized Russia's annexation of Crimea and whose companies could be trapped by economic sanctions imposed by the US and the EU on the aggressor country.
However, intercepted emails suggest that one of China's largest construction companies is willing to participate. They were provided to WP by Ukrainian officials.
One of the reports states that the Chinese Railway Construction Corporation CRCC "is ready to ensure the construction of railway and road facilities of any complexity in the Crimean region."
Previously, the corporation cooperated with the Russian Federation several times, particularly helping expand metro lines in Moscow.
