CNN
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A Ukrainian security official has claimed kyiv’s responsibility for an attack on the bridge linking the annexed Crimean peninsula to the Russian mainland – a vital supply line for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine and a personal project for President Vladimir Putin.
The nearly 12-mile crossing, also known as the Kerch Bridge, is the longest in Europe and has great strategic and symbolic importance for Moscow. Monday’s attack on the bridge was the second since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, after a fuel tanker truck exploded crossing it in October.
A source from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told CNN that this attack was a joint operation of the SBU and the Ukrainian naval forces. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he had not been cleared to speak on record.
Two people were killed and his daughter wounded in the attack, according to Russian-appointed officials.
Two attacks were reportedly carried out around 3 a.m. local time Monday (8 p.m. ET Sunday), damaging part of the bridge, according to the Gray Zone Telegram channel, which supports the Wagner mercenary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin. .
The explosions were heard around 3:04 a.m. and 3:20 a.m. local time, the Gray Zone and popular Crimean blogger ‘TalipoV Online Z’ said on Telegram.
CNN cannot verify those reports.
The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, confirmed that two people were killed and a third injured in the incident.
Gladkov said a girl was injured and her parents were killed while riding in the car that was damaged in the incident.
“There is road damage on sections of the Crimean bridge,” the Russian Transport Ministry said on Telegram. The spans of a bridge are the lengths between the supporting piers. The images showed a partial collapse of a section of the road portion of the bridge, which also carries railway tracks.
On his Telegram channel, Vladimir Konstantinov, head of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea, blamed the damage to the bridge on a Ukrainian attack.
“Tonight, the kyiv terrorist regime committed a new crime: it attacked the Crimean bridge,” Konstantinov said.
“The railway track was not damaged by the strike,” Konstantinov added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that Putin has been briefed on the incident and that Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin will travel to Crimea today to further assess the situation.
“We know the reasons and those behind this terrorist act,” Peskov said. “This will require more composure and additional measures and work from all of us. No other measures have been discussed at this time.”
Videos posted on Telegram by Baza, Gray Zone and other Crimean media outlets appeared to show part of the bridge collapsed and a vehicle damaged in the incident.
Emergency services and law enforcement have been dispatched to the scene, said Sergey Aksenov, the Russian-appointed head of Crimea.
Aksenov urged residents and those traveling to and from Crimea to choose an alternative land route.
The bridge is a critical artery for supplying Crimea with both its daily needs and military supplies, as well as fuel and goods for the civilian population.
A Russian-backed official from the peninsula, Elena Elekchyan, said Crimea is well supplied with fuel, food and industrial goods.
Denis Pushilin, the head of the Russian-backed so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, said on Telegram that he had spoken with his Crimean counterpart to introduce measures “to ensure the fastest passage of checkpoints on the administrative border.” Pushilin said the nightly curfew would be lifted to allow “24-hour” travel to Crimea, and that he was working to ensure fuel availability at gas stations along the route.
Last year, another large explosion partially damaged the crossing, causing parts of it to collapse.
The bridge was badly damaged on October 8 when a fuel tanker truck exploded, destroying a large section of the road. In response to the attack, which took place the day after Putin’s 70th birthday, Ukrainian officials released a video of the burning bridge along with a video of Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy Birthday Mr. President.”
Russia built the 19-kilometre bridge at a cost of around $3.7 billion after Moscow illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014. It was the physical expression of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goal to seize Ukraine and unite it to Russia forever.
After the October explosion, Russia quickly set about repairing the span. It was fully reopened to traffic in February.
Earlier this month, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar made what appeared to be the clearest admission yet that Ukrainian forces were responsible for the October attack.
A Ukrainian official said on Monday that damage to the bridge could hamper Russian logistics.
“Any logistical problem is an additional complication for the occupiers, which creates potential advantages for the Ukrainian defense forces,” Ukrainian Defense Intelligence representative Andrii Yusov told Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne.
Hours after the bridge explosions, Russia announced it is allowing a deal to be struck to allow the export of Ukrainian grains to expire, raising fears of global food insecurity.
Peskov also told reporters that the decision to allow the deal to expire it was not related to the alleged Ukrainian attack on the bridge.
“These are absolutely unrelated events,” he said. “Even before this terrorist attack, the position was declared by President Putin. And I repeat once again, as soon as the part of the Black Sea agreements regarding Russia is fulfilled, Russia will immediately return to the implementation of the agreement.
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