First of a full-scale Russian invasion, the bridge has already been attacked twice. Plans for a third “inevitable” strike were recently reported.
Sergei Kislitsa
Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Sergei Kislitsa posted in social media, the Crimean Bridge, illegally built by the Russian occupiers, will soon cease to exist.
Kislitsa published a picture with six “main types of bridges for 2024.” It lists: “Arch Bridges”, “Cantilever Bridges”, “Cable-stayed Bridges”, “Suspension Bridges”, “Linked Arch Bridges” and “Kerch Bridges”.
In the first five cases, schematic images of the corresponding structures are given, but there is nothing under the caption “Kerch Bridges.”
2024 list of 6 Main Types of Bridges
•Arch Bridges.
•Cantilever Bridges.
•Cable-Stayed Bridges.
•Suspension Bridges.
•Tied-Arch Bridges.
•Kerch Bridges. pic.twitter.com/WVNP79VAjw— Sergiy Kyslytsya ?? (@SergiyKyslytsya) May 1, 2024
Budanov: The Crimean Bridge will collapse
- Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine, the Kerch (Crimean) Bridge has been attacked twice. In October 2022, a truck loaded with explosives exploded on the bridge, destroying several spans of the highway. In July 2023, the bridge was attacked by naval drones. After both attacks, traffic on the bridge was temporarily stopped.
- Last year, the Ministry of Defense said that Ukraine would not undermine the Crimean Bridge so that the Russians could escape from the peninsula.
- At the same time, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense advised people in Crimea not to use the bridge built by the invaders. The SBU has repeatedly noted that the Crimean Bridge is a legitimate military target for Ukraine. It was its drones that first hit this structure in 2022.
- In early April of this year, the British publication The Guardian wrote, citing sources in the Ukrainian intelligence service, that the GUR was preparing a third – “inevitable” – attack on the Kerch Bridge in first half of 2024.
- Ex-Commander of US Army Europe Ben Godges commented on the provision of long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. He noted that they can be used for precision strikes on Russian headquarters, logistics and artillery of the enemy on the front line and in occupied Crimea. “I don’t know, using ATACMS against the Kerch Bridge is their best use. So many of them would be needed, and I think that the Ukrainian General Staff and General Budanov have other plans for the Kerch Bridge,” Godges noted.
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