According to the Kremlin, Ukrainian naval drones struck a vital bridge carrying Russians through the Crimean Peninsula, killing a couple and gravely hurting their daughter.
The bridge connects road and rail traffic from Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014. President Vladimir Putin personally opened the bridge in 2018, making it a symbolic and strategically significant piece of infrastructure.
Images from The Associated Press and other news organizations revealed that a portion of the roadbed had crumbled away, leaving bent metal girders dangling toward the ocean.
The National Antiterrorism Committee issued a statement claiming that Russian officials had claimed that the bridge had been struck by explosions from two Ukrainian “unmanned naval surface vehicles,” adding that it had launched an investigation into the alleged “terrorist act.”
It stated a father and mother who were traveling over the bridge were killed, and their daughter was critically hurt.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson, claimed that Russia was aware of “the reasons” for “this terrorist act” but did not go into greater detail. He and the nation’s foreign ministry both suggested—a popular talking point in Moscow—that the incident may have involved the involvement of the West.
“If the Western origin of the naval surface drones that attacked the bridge — as well as the role of Western countries in planning, sponsoring, and carrying out this operation — is revealed, this will confirm their complicity in the terrorist activities of the Kyiv regime,” the foreign ministry stated in a statement.
On Monday night, Putin is scheduled to have a live televised discussion regarding the bridge. Officials from Russia didn’t offer any proof to back up their assertions of accountability.
A historic wartime agreement that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to nations in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia was suspended by Russia hours after the attack.
Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, denied to say whether Ukraine was engaged. He simply mentioned that “any logistical problems are additional complications for the occupiers” (i.e., Russia) when speaking with Suspilne.
An earlier claim that Russia might be responsible for the strike was made by Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesman for Ukraine’s southern command.
She informed Suspilne that “given the extraordinary security measures that the Russians have been employing around the Crimean bridge for a long time, they most likely controlled this entire situation and it continues to unfold according to the script programmed by them.”
The Kerch Bridge was damaged by another explosion in October, and Russia accused Ukraine of being responsible. Only tangentially acknowledged the strike by Ukraine months later.
According to the Grey Zone, a Telegram channel connected to the Russian Wagner mercenary group, the blasts on Monday occurred at 3:04 a.m. (8:04 p.m. ET Sunday) and 3:20 a.m.
Share your thoughts