Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister, Anna Malyar said in her Telegram channel that Ukraine was behind the undermining of the Crimean bridge. Officially, Ukraine has not recognized its involvement in the bridge’s undermining, but in May, the head of Ukraine’s Security Service, Vasyl Malyuk, said that “certain measures” had been taken.
In a post published on the eve of the 500th day since Russian troops invaded Ukraine, the deputy defense minister provided a list of actions she said Kyiv had taken on certain days. She noted that 273 days had passed since the first strike on the Crimean bridge in order to disrupt the logistics of Russian troops.
On October 8, 2022, there was an explosion on the Crimean bridge. According to the version of the investigation, detonated a specially prepared truck filled with explosives. As a result, two automobile spans collapsed and caught fire tanks with fuel of the freight train, which at that moment was passing along the railway part of the bridge. Four people were killed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the incident a terrorist attack and blamed Ukrainian security services for it. The FSB said the explosion was organized by Ukraine’s military intelligence. The Investigative Committee reported the arrest of eight suspects.
Despite the fact that the bridge’s roadbed has already been fully repaired, Russian authorities have refused to resume the movement of heavy trucks, fearing sabotage and attacks from Ukraine. “There are constant attempts to provoke and influence the Crimean bridge”, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said.
Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly said they consider the bridge a legitimate military target because it is on occupied territory. The crossing is of important strategic importance, including its use for supplying Russian troops. After the Crimea Bridge explosion, Russia sharply stepped up its shelling of Ukraine and began destroying its civilian infrastructure. Putin called the massive missile strikes a retaliatory measure.
