In the early hours of Monday, two explosions rocked the bridge connecting Russia with the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed in 2014. The attack was evaluated by security policy experts György Nógrádi and József Horváth.
The bombing could have happened because the international voices that Ukraine must finally show success in the war have become louder, explained György Nógrádi.
According to the security policy expert, "of course, a Russian response to this is expected", the extent of which also depends on the next Ukrainian steps.
"If Ukraine receives airplanes capable of carrying nuclear bombs as aid, they will respond accordingly. And if the Ukrainians deploy their cluster bombs, they will use them too," Nógrádi pointed out, according to whom it seems that the war is escalating day by day, which is impossible today, but possible tomorrow.
Taking into account that the Ukrainian offensive promised to be effective from spring to summer has at least stalled, but it is also possible that it will not happen, now the Ukrainians are most likely trying such diversionary actions - said security policy expert József Horváth.
"After the NATO summit that disappointed them, where the result expected by the Ukrainians did not come, i.e. that they would be called into NATO, they want to prove the effectiveness of both the army and the intelligence services," he added.
In addition to the demonstrative goal, the other tactical goal may be to make it difficult for the Russians to provide military and other logistical support via land, said József Horváth.
According to the latest information, there are at least two dead from the attack on the bridge connecting Russia with the Crimean peninsula, reported Vyacheslav Gladkov on his Telegram channel. The governor of the Belgorod region in Russia said that the parents of a young girl lost their lives on the bridge.
Video from the Crimean Bridge. #Crimea #CrimeaBridge #RussiaUkraineWar pic.twitter.com/poREYgKZcr
— Natalka (@NatalkaKyiv) July 17, 2023
According to the Russian Investigative Committee, there was a terrorist attack against the Crimean bridge, which was carried out by the Ukrainian special services. In the document presented by the Russian news agency TASSSZ, the office wrote:
"According to the investigation, on the night of July 17, a section of the Crimean Bridge was damaged in a terrorist act committed by the Ukrainian special services. Two civilians - a man and a woman, who were traveling in a car driving on the bridge - died. Their minor daughter was injured."
The Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee reported that the Crimean bridge was attacked by two Ukrainian devices traveling above the surface of the water. The document was quoted by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, according to which: "At 3:50 p.m., two unmanned Ukrainian vehicles attacked the Crimean bridge."
The Crimean bridge in occupied Crimea has been damaged tonight, allegedly by marine drones. #Ukraine #UkraineRussianWar pic.twitter.com/z27jOHoeQy
— BREAKING NEWS: UKRAINE (@MrFukkew) July 17, 2023
Sergei Aksyonov, the leader of the Republic of Crimea, said that the incident happened on the 145th pillar of the bridge, which caused the bridge to be closed, but did not provide further details about the incident. He added that the traffic on the Crimean bridge has stopped and the people of the authority are still working to restore the situation.
The 19-kilometer bridge across the Kerch Strait is the only direct connection between Russia and the Crimean peninsula.
According to the American newspaper The Washington Post, Ukrainian officials claim responsibility for the attack. An anonymous source confirmed the Russian suspicion that the attack was carried out with drones.
Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov said on state television that he can only repeat the words of Kirilo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, who says the Crimean bridge is an unnecessary construction. Natalya Humenyuk, the spokesperson of the Ukrainian Southern Command, described the incident as a provocation by Russia, which, according to her, is related to the expiration of the Russian-Ukrainian Black Sea grain agreement at midnight on Monday, MTI wrote. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian intelligence service said that "the bridge has fallen asleep again."