Russia halted a Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea on Tuesday, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, a day after Moscow accused Kiev of hitting and damaging the main bridge linking the annexed peninsula with Russia, and vowed to avenge the attack.
Highlights
- The Russian Ministry of Defense said that it shot down 28 Ukrainian drones that targeted the Crimean peninsula early Tuesday morning.
- 11 drones were electronically intercepted and 17 were destroyed by Russian air defenses.
- Moscow described the incident as a “terrorist attack” and said there were no casualties or damage.
- Parts of Ukraine were also hit by waves of Russian drones and missiles overnight, according to Ukrainian officials, especially in the south and east of the country.
- Ukrainian authorities said they shot down 31 Russian drones in the southern regions of Odessa and Mykolaiv and intercepted six missiles fired from the Black Sea towards the port city of Odessa.
- All the missiles were reportedly intercepted, but the authorities said the blast wave and falling fragments of the missile destroyed port infrastructure and homes and injured an elderly man who was taken to hospital.
Meat
The drone attack comes a day after two attacks hit the strategic Crimean Bridge, which connects mainland Russia with annexed Crimea. Two people were killed and traffic was shut down in the aftermath of the explosions. This is the second time the bridge has been attacked since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago. Although Kiev did not officially claim responsibility for the attack, Moscow quickly condemned it as an act of Ukrainian terrorism and promised revenge, and Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to “revenge” the Russian military. The bridge is an obvious target for Ukraine and was always likely to come under fire again as the war went on. It is widely seen as a vanity project for Putin and holds enormous symbolic significance for both countries – it is a hated symbol of the occupation of Ukraine and a symbol of Crimea’s quest for ‘reunification’ with mainland Russia – and as the only direct overland link between Russia and Crimea. occupied, is of strategic importance to the Russian war effort.
to monitor
The bridge was partially reopened to vehicles on Tuesday morning, and the Russian Transport Ministry said the bridge supporting it was not damaged in the attack. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khosnullin said traffic should be restored in both directions by mid-September, according to the BBC, and the railway tracks on the bridge did not appear to have been damaged. It is not yet known how Moscow will respond to the attack, or whether Kiev, which usually maintains strategic ambiguity in this type of situation, will claim responsibility for it. Moscow says its refusal to renew its agreement with Ukraine to allow grain shipments from Ukrainian ports is not retaliation for the attack on the bridge.
Translated article from the American magazine Forbes – Author: Robert Hart
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