Crimean bridge damaged in attack that killed 2, Russia identifies Ukraine with help of US, UK, special services as responsible

Svetlana Ekimenko
Sputnik
Mon, 17 Jul 2023 17:07 UTC

Overnight, traffic had been suspended on the Crimean Bridge linking the peninsula to the Krasnodar region via the Sea of Azov due to an emergency that resulted in the death of two people.

The attack on the Crimean Bridge was committed by the regime in Kiev, stated Russia's Foreign Ministry on Monday.

The decision to target the Crimean Bridge was made by Ukrainian officials, their military, and with the participation of US, and UK Special Services, added the ministry in a statement.

"Today's attack on the Crimean Bridge was committed by the Kiev regime. This regime is a terrorist one and has all the signs of an international organized criminal group," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram.

Comment:

Overnight, two unmanned surface vehicles attacked the infrustructure, according to the Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee.

"At 3:05 [6:05 GMT] two Ukrainian unmanned underwater vehicles carried out an attack on the Crimean Bridge. As a result of the terrorist attack, the road part of the Crimean Bridge was damaged, while two adults were killed and one child was injured," the statement said.

Russian investigators are identifying those involved in the organization of the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge carried out by the Kiev regime's special services and armed units, according to the committee.

"The necessary examinations have been appointed as part of the criminal case. The investigation is identifying individuals from the Ukrainian special services and armed units involved in the organization and execution of this crime," stated the committee.

Emergency services are currently working at the scene. Law enforcement agencies are carrying out the necessary operational and investigative actions.

Earlier in the day, Crimean head Sergey Aksenov said that traffic was suspended on the Crimean Bridge due to an emergency, and urged people to avoid traveling via the infrustructure. The road part of the bridge had sustained damage.

"From the side of the Republic of Crimea, there is damage to the roadway on the spans of the Crimean bridge," the Russian Transport Ministry said on Telegram on Monday morning, adding that the "structures of the spans themselves are on their supports."

A civilian couple who had been driving by car from Stary Oskol, Belgorod region, were killed, their 14-year-old child was wounded.

"Two civilians died: a man and a woman, driving a car on the bridge," the Russian Investigative Committee said.

The child's life is not in danger, she has been admitted to the intensive care unit of Temryk Central Hospital.

Comment: Just 24 hours earlier: Crimea governor: 'Massive' drone raid on Russian naval base repelled

Andrew Korybko provides his analysis on the attack:

Kiev's Latest Attack Against The Crimean Bridge Was A Desperate Distraction1 7 Jul 2023

Instead of obsessing over this incident and getting the hopes of Kiev's supporters unrealistically high, it would be much more responsible for the media to precondition everyone to expect the seemingly inevitable resumption of peace talks.

Kiev'sNATO-backedcounteroffensive has failed despite the tens of billions of dollars invested in this endeavor as confirmed by US Defense Intelligence Agency Chief of Staff John Kirchhofer's candid admission late last week that "we are at a bit of a stalemate." Ukraine can't count on much more American aid either after Biden earlier revealed that the US is "low" on ammo after depleting its stockpiles, which National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan later told CNN will take years to replenish.

It was against this backdrop that the US decided to give Ukraine cluster munitions despite previously describing their alleged use by Russia as a "war crime" since it simply doesn't have much else left to send. President Putin had earlier assessed that the export of provocative weapons like depleted uranium shells was precisely due to the aforesaid predicament, which he reaffirmed in light of the latest news. Quite clearly, the NATO chief's "race of logistics"/"war of attrition" with Russia isn't going as planned.

The counteroffensive has failed so spectacularly that Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar was forced to inform her audience that reports about Russia going on the offensive near Kupyansk in Kharkov Region are true but sugarcoated it by claiming that Kiev is "putting up strong resistance." With Russia regaining the military initiative, it was only a matter of time before Ukraine resorted to terrorism out of desperation to distract from these dynamics, ergo why it once again attacked the Crimean Bridge.

Monday morning's incident killed at least two people and showed that shortcomings still exist when it comes to defending this strategic piece of infrastructure. Nevertheless, its temporary closure in the aftermath of this attack likely won't affect Russia's frontline operations, especially since its rail portion hasn't been damaged. Even so, this is still a symbolic victory for Kiev that'll be spun by the Mainstream Media to make it seem like the counteroffensive has finally achieved something significant.

In reality, however, this latest attack has nothing to do with that campaign. It was presumably planned for a while and won't shift the military-strategic dynamics of this conflict, neither in the broader sense when it comes to Russia's edge over the West in the "race of logistics"/"war of attrition" nor in the specific one with respect to its offensive in the Kupyansk direction. All that this attack will do is distract from the preceding facts that are too "politically inconvenient" for Kiev's supporters to acknowledge.

As they indulge in the latest "copium" pushed by the Mainstream Media and online trolls, the fact remains that Kiev's counteroffensive spectacularly failed and talks will therefore likely resume with Moscow by sometime later this year as explained in detail here. Instead of obsessing over this incident and getting the hopes of Kiev's supporters unrealistically high, it would be much more responsible to precondition everyone to expect the aforementioned diplomatic development, which appears inevitable.

See also: Attempt by Kiev to invade Crimea would result in 'extermination of 200,000' of Ukraine's troops - former advisor to Zelensky