China and Russia are discussing the construction of a tunnel from Crimea

At the end of October, Russian and Chinese businessmen and top managers connected with the authorities of both countries discussed plans for the construction of an underwater tunnel, which would connect the annexed Crimea with the territory of Russia, at a closed meeting. This was reported by The Washington Post with reference to materials obtained by Ukrainian special services.

As the publication notes, the fact of the negotiations, on the one hand, indicates that Russia is concerned about the safety of the Crimean (Kerchen) bridge, which has already partially failed twice after explosions arranged by Ukrainian special services. On the other hand, he emphasizes the importance of transport links with Crimea for the Russian authorities, as well as the growing dependence on China.

The American experts referred to by the newspaper note that the tunnel is an extremely difficult object to construct even in peacetime, and during the war, relatively close to the front line, such a large infrastructure project has never been built. It is also noted that participation in the project carries risks for China as well, since companies operating in Crimea are subject to EU and US sanctions. Officially, Beijing does not recognize the annexation of Crimea.

Nevertheless, the correspondence intercepted by the Ukrainian special services indicates that a number of state-owned Chinese companies are interested in the project. In particular, we are talking about the Chinese Railway Construction Company (CRCC). It is confirmed that a Russian-Chinese consortium was created in Sevastopol to work on the project. Its head, businessman Vladimir Kalyuzhny, said that he would not talk to the journalist of the “enemy mass media”. At the same time, according to reports, in a letter to Georgy Muradov, the representative of the Russian authorities of Crimea under the President of Russia, Kalyuzhny wrote that CRCC is ready to participate in the construction of the tunnel as a general contractor. The Chinese company did not comment.