Kerch Airport in occupied Crimea is being repurposed from civilian to military use, according to a June 12 investigation by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Schemes project, citing satellite imagery and Russian real estate registry data.

On March 4, 2025, the Russian-backed authorities officially transferred part of the airport's land to Russia's Defense Ministry for indefinite use, according to the investigation.

Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 after a discredited referendum under military occupation. Since then, the peninsula has become a heavily militarized zone.

Satellite images from the Planet Labs imaging company show ongoing construction at the site, including the installation of protective and camouflage structures around the runway.

The changes suggest the airport is being converted into a military facility capable of supporting drone operations or housing short-range air defense systems such as the Pantsir-S1 or Tor-M2, according to aviation expert Anatoly Khrapchinsky.

The new runway will be suitable for drone launches, Khrapchinsky noted.

Kerch Airport has not hosted regular commercial flights since 2007 and was previously used as a truck holding area for freight vehicles crossing the nearby ferry. That function was relocated in March 2025, officially as part of a "reorganization."

The city of Kerch, situated near the strategic Kerch Strait, lies just across from Russia's Krasnodar Krai and is home to the crucial Crimean Bridge, built after Russia's illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014.

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The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy

The Crimean Bridge, which was illegally constructed after the 2014 annexation of Crimea, linking the occupied peninsula with Russia, has come under attack twice in a single day, UNIAN reports. 

Since 1 June 2025, Ukraine has intensified its bold attacks on Russian infrastructure, including strikes on four airfields and 41 aircraft used to kill Ukrainian civilians. These operations aim to pressure Moscow into agreeing to a ceasefire and peace deal. Talks held on 2 June between Ukraine and Russia again ended without a peace agreement. 

“The attack on the Crimean Bridge continues. They’re breaching defensive barriers. The bridge is closed,” writes the Russian Telegram channel ChP / Crimea.

Russian military blogger Vladimir Romanov claimed the strike was carried out using unmanned surface vessels, or sea drones. He said Russian forces managed to destroy one drone, but the attack was still ongoing.

Z-channel 13 TACTICAL, associated with Russian military sources, also reported “explosions near the bridge’s defensive perimeter.”

Meanwhile, the pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported a powerful explosion in Kerch in the afternoon. 

“A helicopter has been launched to patrol the shoreline along the strait. Kerch-based Telegram groups are in panic,” the channel noted.

Additionally, Russian air defenses were reportedly active at the Belbek airbase near occupied Sevastopol, while residents in Russian-occupied Feodosia heard two explosions. 

Eyewitness videos circulating online show the Crimean Bridge enveloped in smoke, possibly from a deliberate smoke screen to obstruct incoming missiles and drones, or as a result of explosions in the vicinity.