Russia bombards South and East with missiles overnight
Additional drone strikes on Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a government meeting on countermeasures against the attack on the Krem Bridge at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 17 (local time). AP Yonhap News
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of a “retaliation attack” against Ukraine following an attack on the Kerch Bridge linking the Russian peninsula and the Russian mainland on the 17th (local time). After Putin’s comments, Russian forces launched massive airstrikes in southern and eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian military is also said to have launched a drone attack on the Crimean Peninsula on the 18th, one day after the attack on the Khrim Bridge.
President Putin said at a government meeting held in connection with the attack on the Khrm Bridge that day, “The Ukrainian government has committed another terrorist act targeting the Khrm Bridge,” and “of course there will be a response from Russia.” He continued, “The Russian Ministry of Defense is preparing to retaliate against this terrorist attack.”
Earlier, the Russian government claimed that Ukrainian special forces attacked the Khrm Bridge early in the morning using two underwater drones. Although the Ukrainian government has not officially acknowledged responsibility for the attack, some Ukrainian media, citing government sources, reported that the Ukrainian State Security Service (SBU) and the Navy carried out the attack.
Officials of the Russian investigative committee inspect the site of the damage after a drone attack on the Khrm Bridge connecting the Crimean peninsula and the Russian mainland on the 17th (local time). The attack killed two people and injured one child. UPI Yonhap News
President Putin argued that “this crime is meaningless from a military point of view” and “because the Khrm Bridge has not been used as a means of military transport for a long time.” At the same time, he criticized it as “a brutal crime in which innocent civilians were killed and injured.”
The Russian side claims that two civilians were killed and a child injured in the attack the day before, and that it was a “terrorism targeting a civilian facility.” On the other hand, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleva refuted that the bridge could not be considered “civilian infrastructure”, saying that “the bridge is mainly used by the Russian army to supply ammunition, fuel and other military equipment to the Ukrainian peninsula and southern Ukraine.” .
President Putin ordered the preparation of countermeasures, saying, “Find concrete bridge security measures,” saying that the attack on the Khrim Bridge has recurred following last October.
The attack destroyed part of the vehicular bridge span of the Krem Bridge and needs to be restored, but the piers are said to be undamaged. Traffic partially resumed on the 18th, the day after the attack, and traffic in both directions will be possible by mid-September, the Russian government said. The railroad suffered no major damage and was operating normally after a six-hour suspension of train service on the day of the attack.
A satellite picture released on the 17th (local time) by Maxar Technology, a private satellite company in the United States. It is confirmed that some sections of the Krem Bridge are damaged. AFP Yonhap News
The Khrm Bridge is the only bridge linking the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula, which was forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year, it has served as a key supply route for the Russian army. At the same time, it has been called ‘Putin’s pride’ as a symbol of Russia’s territorial claim to the Crimean Peninsula.
After President Putin’s “retaliation warning,” Russian forces launched massive airstrikes in Ukraine using drones and missiles overnight. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that at dawn on the 18th, areas such as southern Odessa, Mykolaiu, Kherson, and Zaporizhia, central Dnipropetrovsk, and eastern Donetsk were attacked by drones. Poltava, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv also said they were hit by airstrikes presumed to be ballistic missile attacks. It is reported that at least one civilian was killed and five injured in the airstrike in Zaporizhia.
The Russian military also carried out massive air strikes on the Khrim Bridge last October, claiming that Ukrainian forces carried out a sabotage operation when a large-scale explosion occurred.
The Ukrainian military is also said to have carried out additional drone strikes on the Crimean Peninsula on the same day. The Russian Ministry of Defense said on the same day that 28 Ukrainian drones attempted to attack the Crimean Peninsula, but all were shot down by activating air defense networks.
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2023-07-18 04:50:00
