The Kremlin has claimed it shot down two Ukrainian missiles aimed toward Russia’s Kerch bridge to Crimea, as video reveals smoke rising over the essential connection to the annexed peninsula.
The 20-kilometer-long Kerch Bridge is of nice significance to Moscow, each logistically and psychologically, as a serious thoroughfare for navy and civilian provides and as an affirmation of the Kremlin’s management of the peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014.
Last week, a Ukrainian naval drone hit a Russian tanker close to the bridge, whereas an assault on the bridge final month killed a pair and severely injured their daughter, leaving a part of the highway hanging precariously.
The injury appeared much less extreme than that attributable to an assault in October, nevertheless it once more highlighted the bridge’s £3bn vulnerability. Traffic was halted, however Russian officers mentioned there have been no casualties.
As movies circulated on Russian social media that appeared to point out smoke rising over the bridge on Saturday, Moscow-appointed Crimea governor Sergei Aksyonov reported that Russian air defenses had additionally shot down two Ukrainian missiles.
The Ukrainian missile was detected in time and intercepted in mid-air by Russian air protection methods. No injury or casualties reported,” the ministry mentioned in an announcement.
An adviser to Mr. Aksyonov, Oleg Kryuchkov, claimed that “a smokescreen had been erected by special services.”
Smoke billows over Russia’s Kerch bridge to Crimea – because the Kremlin claims to have shot down two Ukrainian missiles aimed on the essential connection to the annexed peninsula
The Kerch Bridge connecting Crimea to Russia has nice significance for Moscow
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine was trying to destroy the bridge utilizing S-200 anti-aircraft missiles.
The alleged assault could be the primary time the important bridge has been focused through the daytime.
Last month, dramatic pictures confirmed the second huge explosions ripped by means of the intersection, with giant flashes and thunderous explosions being seen and heard from neighboring cities.
Part of the crossing was destroyed within the twin assault, with footage of twisted metallic boundaries, particles and a broken automotive dealing a serious blow to Moscow’s warfare effort.
Russian officers accused Ukraine of finishing up the assault with British and American involvement – with out offering any proof.
Putin’s outraged propagandists then predictably echoed the Kremlin’s line and referred to as on Moscow to launch a retaliatory assault on London’s Tower Bridge, describing the landmark as a “legitimate target.”
The newest alleged assault on the Kerch Bridge got here simply hours after Moscow claimed they shot down 20 drones concentrating on Crimea within the early hours of Saturday.
Fourteen drones had been shot down by Russian air defenses and one other six had been electronically blocked, the ministry mentioned in a Telegram publish. No casualties or injury had been reported.
Officials in Kiev neither confirmed nor denied Ukraine’s involvement within the assaults.
The tried drone and missile strikes observe three consecutive days of drone strikes on the Russian capital Moscow.
The alleged assault could be the primary time the important bridge (pictured) has been focused through the daytime.
Last month, dramatic pictures confirmed the second huge explosions ripped by means of the 12-mile crossing
Pictured: The £3 billion broken Crimean bridge following a drone strike final month
The firing of drones at Russia after greater than 17 months of warfare apparently has little navy worth for Ukraine, however the technique has upset Russians and made them perceive the implications of the battle.
Drone assaults have elevated in latest weeks, each on Moscow and Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 – a transfer thought of unlawful by most individuals.
Officials in Kiev neither confirmed nor denied the attainable involvement of Ukraine within the tried assaults.
Elsewhere, Russia claimed it had regained management of the village of Uroshaine in Ukraine’s easternmost area of Luhansk in a nighttime counterattack.
A 73-year-old lady was killed early Saturday morning in Russian shelling in Ukraine’s northeastern area of Kharkiv, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov mentioned.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko mentioned a police officer was killed and 12 injured when a guided Russian aerial bomb hit the city of Orikhiv in Ukraine’s partially occupied southern Zaporizhzhia area.
Four of the injured had been additionally law enforcement officials, he mentioned.
Meanwhile, native officers reported Saturday morning explosions within the central Ukrainian metropolis of Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, however that there have been no recognized casualties.
On the Black Sea coast of Ukraine, town of Odessa opened a number of seashores for the primary time since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Odessa governor Oleh Kiper mentioned six seashores had been open, however pressured that entry to seashores throughout air raids was prohibited.
The strategic port and most important hub for grain exports has been the sufferer of repeated missile and drone strikes – particularly since Moscow canceled a historic grain deal final month amid Kiev’s frantic efforts to retake occupied territories – whereas there often Russian mines have washed up on town’s seashores. .