Ukraine appeared to have attacked the Kerch Strait Bridge linking the occupied Crimean Peninsula with mainland Russia early Monday, forcing it to close.
Sergei Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed head of Crimea, said that all road and rail traffic had been stopped on the bridge because of an unspecified “emergency”, but Russian military bloggers reported that Ukraine attacked the bridge over the landmark.
A father and mother from the Belgorod region were killed in the incident and their daughter was injured, Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region, was quoted as saying by Zvezda News, a TV channel of the Russian Defense Ministry. The Russian Transport Ministry said in a brief statement that there had been damage to the road leading from Crimea, but the entire structure was still being examined. declare on its Telegram channel.
The incident happened more than nine months later an October 8 attack on the bridge, when a truck full of explosives explodes, forcing a traffic lane to close and damaging the tracks. Three people died in that attack.
The 12-mile bridge, completed in 2018 and considered an engineering feat, was fully reopened to traffic in February. Rail traffic resumes normal in May.
The bridge is a major route used to resupply Russian troops in Ukraine, as well as the Black Sea fleet, based in the Crimean port of Sevastopol. Interrupted bridge traffic forced Russia to resupply its troops in Crimea and southern Ukraine via overland routes through southern Ukraine that could be subject to Ukrainian shelling.
The closure also comes at the height of the summer tourist season, when Crimea is a popular destination for Russian tourists looking for a bargain beach destination. Crimean officials asked tourists to stay in their hotels due to the situation. Videos on social media showed traffic backing up on the roads leading to the bridge.
Aksyonov, writing on his Telegram channel about the situation, asked both residents and visitors to avoid using the bridge and use an “alternative road route through new areas”, that is, the southern regions of Ukraine. occupied by Russia during the invasion. Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.
Mr Aksyonov said rail traffic would resume before 9am on Monday.
He and other officials urged people in Crimea not to panic, with some officials saying there is enough food and fuel stocked on the peninsula to supply civilians while the bridge is closed.
Milana Mazaeva contribution report.
