Traffic on the Crimean bridge, which connects the Russian mainland with the annexed peninsula, was already interrupted twice on Saturday.
The Russian authorities did not elaborate on the reasons for the closures. However, the measures followed the nightly statements of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who threatened further attacks on the bridge from the side of Kyiv.
“The Crimean bridge is not just a logistical route, it is a route used to supply war with ammunition, and this happens every day,” Zelenskyy said in a video speech to a security forum in Aspen, USA.
The nineteen-kilometer-long bridge, which is also called the Kerch bridge and is often crowded with masses of Russian tourists heading for vacation in the summer, was described by Zelensky as a target that “must be neutralized.”
Bridge Management Operations Center for the first time announced “temporary closure” on Saturday before 11:30 local time. The closure lasted more than an hour, then traffic was restored. One hour ago they stopped the traffic again, this time only for about ten minutes.
About the attack on the Crimean bridge
The bridge to Crimea was damaged by an explosion early Monday morning. According to Russian authorities, the incident claimed two lives and disrupted traffic on Russia’s main link with annexed Crimea. SZ prepared an overview of what we know about the attack.
On Monday night, the bridge was seriously damaged, probably after an attack by an underwater Ukrainian drone. Moscow blamed Kyiv for the explosion, which killed two people. He did not sign up for the event, but Ukraine welcomed the attack.
In Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, an ammunition warehouse also exploded on Saturday morning. Head of the Government of the Republic of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov he declared, that there was a drone attack in the central part of the peninsula in the Krasnogvarde district. The authorities ordered the evacuation of residents in the vicinity of five kilometers and suspended rail traffic.
Huge detonations are currently happening in the center of Crimea after the Ukrainian strikes
Reportedly, several drones & possibly Storm Shadow missiles were involved. Fleet ammunition depot & railway connection were hit in Octiabrskoe. https://t.co/KABqXo3wdd pic.twitter.com/lFfocTddgi
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) July 22, 2023
However, according to some Russian war correspondents, it was the first attack by British long-range Storm Shadow missiles on Crimea, specifically on targets near the village of Oktyabrskoye.
“The Black Sea Fleet’s oil depot and ammunition depot were hit,” stated one of the most watched correspondents on the networks with the nickname Rybar, who is considered a well-informed source on the war in Ukraine in Russia.
2023-07-22 11:22:19
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