Blasts on Crimea bridge kill 2, threaten Russian war supply lines
CBC
Traffic on a key military supply bridge connecting Crimea to Russia's mainland came to a standstill Monday after one of its sections was blown up, killing two people.
Russian officials blamed the attack on Ukraine, but Kyiv officials didn't openly admit it.
The strike on the 19-kilometre Kerch Bridge was carried out by two Ukrainian sea drones, Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee said.
Ukrainian officials didn't claim responsibility for the attack, which is the second major strike on the bridge since October, when a truck bomb blew up two of its sections.
The bridge is a conspicuous symbol of Moscow's claims on Crimea and an essential land link to the peninsula, which Russia captured from Ukraine in 2014. The $3.6-billion US bridge is the longest in Europe and is crucial for enabling Russia's military operations in southern Ukraine during the almost 17-month-long war.
Russia has expanded its presence in Crimea since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Occasional acts of sabotage and other attacks against Russian military and other facilities on the peninsula have occurred since, with the Kremlin blaming Ukraine.
Asked Monday whether the attack was a factor behind Russia's decision, announced Monday, to halt a wartime deal that allows grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, the Kremlin denied the link.
"No, these developments aren't connected," spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. "Even before this terror attack President [Vladimir] Putin had declared our stand on that."
The attack on the bridge comes as Ukrainian forces are trying to press a counteroffensive in several sections of the front line. It also happened just hours before Russia, as expected, it was halting the grain deal.
Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Southern Command, said the explosions on the bridge could be a Russian provocation. But Ukrainian Ukrainska Pravda and RBC Ukraine news outlets said the attack was planned jointly by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ukrainian navy and involved sea drones.
In what appeared to be an indirect acknowledgment of Ukraine's involvement in Monday's explosion, Ukrainian Security Service spokesperson Artem Degtyarenko said in a statement that details of what happened would be revealed after Ukraine has won the war.
"In the meantime, we are watching with interest how one of the symbols of the Putin regime once again failed to withstand the military load," he said.
Video posted by Crimea 24 online news channel showed a section of the bridge tilted and hanging down, but there was no indication any portion had fallen into the water.
