Posted by Samuel on Sat 08th Oct, 2022 - tori.ng
The bridge was attacked with several blasts, partially destroying the road side of the bridge.
As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues heating up, Europe’s longest bridge, the 19 kilometers’ Crimean Bridge, was on Saturday attacked.
The bridge was attacked with several blasts, partially destroying the road side of the bridge.
Ukraine has now claimed responsibility saying the attack was just “the beginning."
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s aide, Mikhail Podoliak, in a tweet, said “Crimea, the bridge, the beginning."
“Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled.”
The bridge was closed in the early hours of Saturday after a truck exploded, damaging the road and causing a huge fire, RT reports.
It reported that Ukrainian officials had promised to attack the Crimean Bridge, which connects the Russian peninsula of Crimea to the country’s Krasnodar Region, on numerous occasions during the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
In August, Podoliak said that Europe’s largest bridge “should be destroyed” because it’s “an illegal construction and the main gateway to supply the Russian army in Crimea.”
Zelensky and other members of his team have also stated that Ukraine will use force to retake Crimea, which overwhelmingly voted to reunite with Russia in a referendum in 2014.
Meanwhile, the blast was reportedly occurred at around 6am local time, causing a partial collapse of the road on the section for vehicles. A blaze also broke out on the parallel rail section, where seven fuel tanks caught fire.
Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee had earlier said that a truck exploded as it was travelling along the 19-km-long structure.
The fire has been extinguished, and the damage caused by the blast is being assessed.
The Crimean authorities said a ferry service will be provided while the bridge is being repaired.