The Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea to Russia, was captured in a photograph on October 14, 2022.
Stringer | Afp | Getty Images
The head of Crimea’s Parliament, installed by Russia, has attributed the disruption of traffic and the reported deaths of two individuals on the Crimean bridge to a “terrorist attack” by Ukraine.
“Tonight, the terrorist regime in Kyiv committed a new crime — they attacked the Crimean bridge,” said Vladimir Konstantinov, the Head of Crimea’s parliament, in a statement on his Telegram channel.
The bridge, which spans 12 miles and includes road and railway crossings, is a vital transportation and supply route for Russian forces in Ukraine.
“In retaliation, we will follow the news. Our Secretary of Defense has promised strikes against the centers of criminal decision-making,” he threatened.
Russia’s Grey Zone channel, a Telegram channel associated with the Wagner mercenary group, claimed, “Two strikes were made on the Crimean bridge by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” according to translations from Google.
The incidents reportedly occurred at 3:04 a.m. and 3:20 a.m. local time. CNBC was unable to independently verify the reports.
According to the Transport Ministry of the Russian Federation, the bridge itself remains undamaged, and the incident occurred on a section leading to the bridge.
The Kerch Bridge, which connects occupied Crimea to Russia, was opened in 2018.
“Traffic was stopped on the Crimean bridge due to an emergency in the vicinity of the 145th support pillar in the Krasnodar Territory,” said Sergey Aksyonov, the head of the Russian administration in Crimea, in a separate message on Telegram.
Aksyonov added that steps are being taken to address the situation.
A girl was injured and her parents died in the incident, according to a statement by Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod, on his own Telegram channel.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has yet to respond to a request for comment.
The attack on the Crimean bridge is reported to be a “special operation” conducted by the naval forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Security Service of Ukraine, according to the RBC-Ukraine news agency, citing sources from the SBU.
As of 9:50 a.m. local time, Russia’s transport ministry announced that ferry traffic between Crimea and Russia had been suspended.
“The operation of the Kerch ferry is currently suspended… The resumption of the crossing will be announced later,” the ministry stated.
This is the second time the bridge has been damaged in the span of 10 months. The incident coincides with the impending expiration of the landmark Black Sea grain deal brokered between Ukraine and Russia.
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