This photo released by Ostorozhno Novosti on Monday, July 17, 2023, allegedly shows damaged sections of a car link of the Crimean Bridge connecting mainland Russia and the Crimean peninsula across the Straits Kerch is not far from Kerch, Crimea.
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This photo released by Ostorozhno Novosti on Monday, July 17, 2023, allegedly shows damaged sections of a car link of the Crimean Bridge connecting mainland Russia and the Crimean peninsula across the Straits Kerch is not far from Kerch, Crimea.
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MOSCOW — At least two people are presumed dead and another injured early Monday after what Russian authorities say was a Ukrainian attack on a key bridge linking mainland Russia to the Crimean peninsula. merged.
Russian media reported that two explosions occurred at the Kerch bridge connecting southern Russia with the Crimean peninsula. Russian officials called the incident a “terrorist attack” orchestrated by Ukrainian special forces that involved two drones at sea. There was no claim of responsibility from Ukraine, but a spokesman for the Ukrainian military’s Southern Command said the explosions were likely a staged Russian provocation aimed at undermining the export deal. The cereal expires on Monday.
Eyewitness video online showed a section of the road partially collapsed, although a parallel track appeared to be undamaged. Local authorities have also identified the victim; they say a teenage girl was orphaned after her parents’ car appeared to be hit by the impact of whatever caused the damage.
Russia has made it clear where it thinks responsibility lies: Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of carrying out a terrorist attack with help, she said, from US and British intelligence
This is the second serious attack on the bridge since last October, when a truck bomb damaged two sections of the bridge. The bridge is the main supply route for Russian forces operating in southern Ukraine. It is also an important symbol of Moscow’s control of Crimea, territory Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin personally drove the first car over the bridge when it opened in 2018 to much fanfare.
For all of those reasons, Ukraine has said that the bridge is a legitimate military target. blame Kiev.
Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s security service, has repeatedly called the bridge redundant. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar recently listed the attack on the bridge last fall as one of Ukraine’s military successes.
NPR’s Joanna Kakissis contributed reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine.
