Ukrainian official: Attack on Crimean bridge forced Russian military to use ferry to transport weapons

(Reuters, Kyiv, 25th) Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) chief Vasyl Maliuk said that Ukraine’s use of unmanned boats to attack Russia’s Crimean bridge in July had “subverted” the principles of naval operations and forced Moscow authorities to switch to Ferries carry weapons.

It has been more than a year since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Malek said in a documentary broadcast yesterday that the second wave of major attacks launched by Ukraine in August seriously disrupted the operation of the 19-kilometer-long Crimea Bridge and hit The image of Russia’s invincibility.

Malek said, “We have actually overturned the principles of naval warfare… We have destroyed the myth of Russian invincibility. This country is hypocritical. This bridge is destined to be destroyed. There are many surprises in the future, not just Crimea.” Asia Bridge”.

He also pointed out that the attack was supported by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and used five “Sea Baby” unmanned boats, operated from Kiev, 1,000 kilometers away.

Video from the time showed an explosion on the bridge, with technicians in the control room cheering.

The documentary mentioned that reports submitted by secret agents showed that 6 of the bridge’s eight support structures were destroyed and 2 were damaged. The Russian military switched to ferries to transport weapons to the troops.

Russian authorities said an attack in July killed two people on the bridge. The bridge’s road and rail links connect the Crimean peninsula to the Russian mainland; although traffic has since resumed normal operations on the bridge, Russian officials note that repair work is still ongoing.

Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, and the bridge was completed in 2018.

The attack on the Crimean bridge was part of Ukraine’s offensive in the Black Sea region, which included a missile attack in September on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, the largest port city on the Crimean peninsula.

Zelensky said this month that Ukraine had taken back the initiative in the Black Sea from Russia and had deployed unmanned naval vessels to force Russian naval vessels to retreat. Central News Agency (translation)