Ukrainian cruise missile attack forces closure of a massive ten-mile bridge linking Russia to Crimea, which cost Putin £3bn to build.
- Russian air defenses claim they shot down a missile in the vicinity of the crossing
- The £3bn ten-mile crossing was built in 2014 after Putin annexed Crimea.
A Ukrainian cruise missile attack has forced the £3bn ten-mile bridge linking Russia to Crimea to temporarily close.
Russian air defenses have claimed they shot down a missile in the vicinity of the crossing, which was built on Putin’s orders after he annexed Crimea following a 2014 invasion.
One The report said it was an intercept by the 31st Air Defense Division north of Taman on the Russian side of the bridge.
It was evidently shot down on the Kerch, or Crimean, side of the gigantic bridge.
“There was no damage or casualties, the wreckage fell into the waters of the Azov Sea,” the Rybar Telegram channel reported.
Russian air defenses have claimed they shot down a missile in the vicinity of the crossing, which was built on Putin’s orders after he annexed Crimea following a 2014 invasion.
One report said this was an interception by the 31st Air Defense Division north of Taman on the Russian side of the bridge.
Queues formed as traffic stopped in both directions on the bridge as a result of the attack.
The channel suggested that Ukraine had used a “modernized missile from an S-200 complex, which was redesigned for attacks along a ballistic trajectory.”
‘This range is about 400 km [250 miles].’
The crossing is Putin’s main link with the Crimean peninsula.
Russian war channels speculated today that Ukraine will make new efforts to destroy the bridge, seen as Putin’s vanity project to connect Russia with the invaded peninsula that, under international law, belongs to Ukraine.
Queues formed as traffic stopped in both directions on the bridge as a result of the attack.
It comes as Putin seeks to encourage Russian tourists to visit Crimea’s traditional summer park.
The head of the Russian puppet government in Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, said: ‘In the Kerch area, air defense forces shot down a cruise missile. No damage or casualties.
“I ask everyone to remain calm and trust only reliable sources of information.”
It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces have made “steady gains” in beleaguered Bakhmut.
An intelligence update from the UK Ministry of Defense on Saturday morning said that after a “pause during June 2023”, Bakhmut over the past week “has again been the site of some of the most intense fighting on the front lines. “.
The statement added: ‘Ukrainian forces have made steady advances both north and south of the Russian-controlled city. The Russian defenders are likely to have problems with low morale, a disparate unit mix, and a limited ability to find and engage Ukrainian artillery.
Russian leaders almost certainly find it politically unacceptable to concede to Bakhmut, which carries symbolic weight as one of the few Russian gains in the past 12 months. However, it is very likely that there are few additional reserves to commit in the sector.’
