NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A Russian convoy carrying heavy military equipment is heading to Crimea, reports said Saturday, in an apparent effort by Moscow to bolster its offensive in Ukraine.
The equipment was reportedly transported near the Kerch Bridge, also known as the Crimean Bridge, which connects the Crimean peninsula with Russia for rail and vehicle transport.
According to Radio Free Europe, the railway trucks were loaded with machinery such as howitzers, heavy armored vehicles, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, trucks and fuel tanks.
FILE – A vehicle drives over the Crimea roadrail bridge that crosses the Kerch Strait and connects southern Russia with the Crimean peninsula on May 15, 2018, in Kerch, before the ceremony opening
(ALEXANDER NEMENOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
WHERE IS THE WAR IN UKRAINE AT THE 6 MONTH MARK
The transport of heavy military equipment to Crimea comes as emphasis has been placed on the peninsula, which Russia has occupied since 2014.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week that Ukrainian forces will not stop fighting until all Russian occupation forces are withdrawn from the country, including Crimea, where Russia has gained a major stronghold.
“It all started with Crimea, and it will end with Crimea,” Zelenskyy told world leaders at a forum on Tuesday. “Crimea must be liberated. This will be the resuscitation of world law and order.”
Although Zelensky appears to have the support of world leaders, experts believe that Russia’s exit from Crimea will be difficult.
Fighting along Ukraine’s 1,500milelong front line has largely stalled in recent weeks, but defense officials assess that both sides are preparing for major campaigns in regions such as Donetsk.
FILE – The Kerch Strait bridge that allows shipping to flow between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
(Gallo Images / Copernicus Sentinel 2018 / Orbital Horizon)
PUTIN INCREASES SIZE OF RUSSIA’S MILITARY AMID WAR IN UKRAINE
Reports in recent months have suggested that Ukraine is preparing a fullscale counteroffensive against Russia as the advance of Moscow’s troops in the east and south has slowed.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense assessed on Saturday that fighting in the eastern Donetsk region may have intensified over the past five days as Russia seeks to force Ukrainian troops out of other more contested areas in the south and north.
“ProRussian separatist militias have likely advanced toward the center of the village of Pisky, near Donetsk airport. However, overall, Russian forces have made little territorial gains,” the intelligence update said. british intelligence
A Russian military truck drives past an unexploded ordnance during the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in the Russianheld village of Chornobaivka, Ukraine, on July 26, 2022.
(REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“There is a realistic possibility that Russia has increased its efforts in the Donbas to try to attract or pin down additional Ukrainian units, amid speculation that Ukraine is planning a major counteroffensive,” the brief added.
The ministry has assessed that Ukraine is retreating in areas of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Kharkiv regions where heavy fighting continues.