Kerch Bridge Attack: Uncovering the Details and Political Motives

2023-07-17 09:24:35

More details were revealed regarding the attack that targeted the Kerch Bridge, which connects the Russian mainland with the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed to its lands years ago, on Monday morning, at a time when Ukrainian sources said that Kiev was behind the attack. Homes of Ukrainian leaders.

Maritime attack

The Russian Anti-Terrorism Committee said that Ukraine attacked the Kerch Bridge using unmanned naval vehicles, which stopped movement in it.

The committee said in a statement that Ukrainian “special forces” were responsible for the attack, adding that it had opened a criminal investigation, according to Archyde.com.

And in Kiev, a Ukrainian source confirmed to “Agence France Presse” that the attack was carried out by sea drones.

Last year, the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed his intention to create a fleet of marine marches, and said at the time that the goal was to “protect only Ukrainian maritime areas.”

The pro-Russian authorities in Crimea announced this morning the suspension of movement on the bridge without giving reasons.

informal adoption

A source in the Security Services of Ukraine (SBU) told Agence France-Presse that intelligence and the Navy were behind the attack on the Crimean bridge, which was carried out by “naval marches”.

The source explained, “Today’s attack on the Crimean Bridge is a special operation for the SBU and the Navy,” noting that “the bridge was attacked by naval drones.”

At least two Ukrainian media, citing unnamed sources, reported that the Ukrainian Internal Security Agency and Navy were behind the attack, according to Archyde.com.

Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence department, declined to comment on the incident.

But he said, “The Russians use the peninsula as a major logistical hub to move troops and assets deep into Ukraine’s territory. Of course, any logistical problems are additional complications for the occupiers,” according to the Associated Press.

Russian intimidation and accusation

A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack.

“Today’s attack on the Crimean bridge was carried out by the Kiev regime. This regime is terrorist and has all the hallmarks of an international organized crime group,” Zakharova said.

“Ukrainian officials make decisions with the direct participation of intelligence services and politicians in both the United States and Britain,” she added.

And she continued, “The United States and Britain are responsible for a terrorist state entity.”

“blow up their homes”

The deputy head of Russia’s National Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said: “The world’s experience and our experience shows that it is impossible to fight terrorists with international sanctions, intimidation or warnings. They understand only the language of force, and only completely personal and inhumane methods.”

He added, “It is necessary to blow up their homes and the homes of their relatives. Look for their accomplices and eliminate them, and give up the obscene idea of ​​a trial once morest them.”

“But the main thing is the destruction of the terrorist formations by the high command,” he continued.

Attack details

Two civilians, a man and a woman, who were in a tourist car driving on the bridge, were killed.

The authorities explained that their daughter was injured.

Traffic atop the main bridge was halted for several hours, and authorities asked travelers to use alternative routes.

The extent of the damage was not clear, but train traffic resumed later Monday morning following stopping for regarding six hours, according to the Associated Press.

And the governor of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, announced the closure of the bridge in the early hours of Monday morning, without specifying the reason.

A video clip, published by (Al Qurm 24) news channel on its website, showed that part of the bridge had become inclined and hanging, and it said that there was no indication that any part of the bridge had fallen into the water.

According to news reports, residents heard explosions at dawn on Monday.

The Baza channel on Telegram, which has links to the Russian security services, published pictures showing a damaged lane on the bridge, and the damaged front of a black car.
The bridge, which is 19 kilometers long and opened in 2018, is the main land link between Russia and Crimea.

The bridge, which spans the Kerch Strait, was damaged in October by a truck bomb and it took Moscow months to repair it before resuming full service.

The bridge is an important supply artery for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The beginning of a new phase of the conflict

A professor of political science at Sevastopol University in Crimea, Dr. Ammar, tells Sky News Arabia:

Preliminary investigations showed that two drone boats targeted the bridge. The attack might mark the beginning of a new and somewhat dangerous phase that will witness the targeting of vital areas, especially since the beginning of the heavy aerial bombardment of Ukraine by Russia came following the targeting of the Crimean Bridge. There are now attempts to take the conflict to other levels, following the failure or stumble of the counter-attack and the results of the recent NATO summit, which do not comply with the requirements of the ruling political elite in Ukraine. He pointed out that an attack that occurred yesterday almost hit the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in the Crimea, but the Russian forces destroyed two boats of the same type that were used in today’s attack. It was considered that the attack today is linked to the faltering of the political solution in a way that serves Western interests, and this targeting cannot take place without the consent of the Western party, especially the United States, but there is another hypothesis indicating that the attack came as a result of the political bankruptcy of the Kiev regime in an attempt to drag the Western system following apathy towards Ukraine .
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