Those We Don't See

When another enemy attack begins at night, we hear air defenses, see flashes in the sky, and sometimes hear explosions at sea.

Then reports appear about downed drones and enemy unmanned aerial vehicles destroyed in the waters.
The reports usually say that our air defenses destroyed a certain number of enemy unmanned aerial vehicles, or that counter-sabotage forces destroyed a certain number of unmanned aerial vehicles heading toward a seaport or bridge.

But there are people whose work is not talked about at all. Or is remembered very rarely.

I'm talking about the border guards.
I'm talking about the guys in green caps who defend our Motherland's borders not only somewhere far away, in the mountains, the Far Eastern taiga, or the polar ice. They also stand here, on the Black Sea coast.

This video shows border guards in action on Russia's southern border.
Enemy BEKs are moving at full speed toward the coast, trying to break through to coastal infrastructure, to the Crimean Bridge.

And so, border patrols move out to intercept these infernal machines.

For us, civilians, the Black Sea coast is beaches, embankments, houses, hotels, cafes, and restaurants. For border guards, it is a stretch of the state border that must be defended and protected around the clock, at any time of year, and in any weather.

We are accustomed to the fact that after every repelled attack on a city, our air defense is praised. And deservedly so. Our air defense is powerful! But defending the Black Sea coast is not only the work of those who look to the sky.
Border guards monitor the sea surface, serve on boats and at coastal posts, detect threats, and without hesitation engage in combat. This includes when an unmanned boat loaded with explosives is already heading toward the shore or trying to break through to a key facility.

The Crimean Bridge is a special story.
We drive across it by car or train, looking out the window, photographing the sea. For us, it's a road. But for those guarding it, it's an object that the enemy has repeatedly attempted to attack, and continues to attempt to do so.
And so, between this threat and the bridge stand our border guards. They defend it, literally with their lives.

The border service is generally organized in such a way that the better it is organized, the less we know about it. Nothing happened on the shore, no unmanned aerial vehicle (BAM) arrived, no drone broke through. People woke up in the morning, went to work, took their children out for a walk, tourists went to the sea.

An ordinary day.

Only to keep it ordinary, someone stayed up all night. So next time you're strolling along the Black Sea coast or crossing the Kerch Strait via the Crimean Bridge, just think about the border guards.

Those who are usually invisible