Pletenchuk: Russians are trying to "barricade" Kerch Strait to strengthen fire control

This was stated by the spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, Dmytro Pletenchuk, on the air of the United News marathon, commenting on a journalist's question about "Russians fortifying the Kerch Bridge with barges," Ukrinform reports.

"These are not even fortifications, they are attempts to barricade the passage in order to narrow it as much as possible to make it easier to control. The Russians control it with the help of aviation: they constantly fly both helicopters and aircraft of various models," he said.

Pletenchuk noted that Russian helicopters occasionally find themselves in the crosshairs of their own air defence systems. According to him, this is "a side effect of the large presence of these units in the air". He stated that Russian aviation continues to dominate the eastern part of the Black Sea.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Russian troops have four missile launchers in the Black and Azov Seas, with a total of 24 Kalibr missiles.

In the temporarily occupied Crimea, the number of barges to protect the Kerch Bridge has increased to 21, and piers have appeared under the bridge.