MOSCOW, July 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two people have died after an “attack” on the bridge linking the occupied Crimean peninsula to Russia.
The head of Crimea’s parliament blamed Ukraine for the incident, state media reported, but Kyiv is yet to officially comment.
The Kerch bridge was opened in 2018 and enables road and rail travel between Russia and Crimea – Ukrainian territory occupied by Moscow’s forces since 2014.
Russia’s transport ministry said the bridge’s supports were not damaged.
The ministry said investigations were ongoing, but unconfirmed reports said explosions were heard early on Monday.
It is the second major incident on the Kerch bridge in the past year. In October 2022, the bridge – which is an important supply route – was partially closed following a major explosion. It was fully reopened in February.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the western Russian region of Belgorod, said in a Telegram statement that two people, the parents of a young girl, had died in the incident – which he simply labelled an “emergency”.
Unverified photos posted by the spokesperson for the Odesa military administration showed debris on the road across the bridge, and damaged railings.
Grey Zone, a Russian Telegram channel with links to the Wagner group said the bridge was likely damaged by an underwater drone launched into the bridge by Ukraine.
The head of Crimea’s parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, also pointed the finger at Ukraine, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
And a source within Ukraine’s intelligence service, the SBU said that it had carried out the attack alongside the navy’s special forces.
Ukrainian media similarly reported that sources within the agency had claimed responsibility for the attack in off the record briefings.
But a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern military command, Natalia Humeniuk, said the incident could be an act of provocation from Moscow.
Monday is also the day on which a deal that has allowed grain to leave Ukrainian ports since it was brokered by the UN last year is set to expire.
Ukraine and Russia are among the world’s top grain exporters, and the deal was reached amid fears that the war would lead to global food shortages, but Russia has so far refused to agree to an extension. — NNN-AGENCIES
