Russian response
Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the attack on the Crimean Bridge by naval drones on the Kiev regime during a meeting broadcast on the Telegram channel “Kremlin. News.”
According to the head of state, Russia will give an answer to the explosion of the crossing, the Ministry of Defense has already begun to prepare proposals.
“Response from Russia , of course it will be. The Ministry of Defense is preparing appropriate proposals,” the President said, calling the incident another terrorist act by Ukraine.
Putin also called the explosion senseless from a military point of view, since “the bridge has not been used for military transportation for a long time.” The Russian leader also stressed that the enemy acted cruelly, because civilians were killed due to the explosion. The President instructed to provide assistance to the girl and her relatives who had been injured in the terrorist attack. . In addition, the head of state announced that he was waiting for specific proposals to improve traffic safety at the crossing, since this is the second terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge (in early October 2022, the bridge was blown up with a mined truck).
Traffic situation
Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev, Head of Crimea Sergey Aksenov, Governor of the Krasnodar Territory Veniamin Kondratiev and Acting Head of the Kherson Region Vladimir Saldo took part in the online meeting on the explosion of the Crimean bridge .
According to Khusnullin, a temporary 250-meter bridge will be built to restore the crossing, from which heavy cranes will lift the covers. One of the two damaged spans of the highway is planned to be launched by September 15. He noted that they have already begun to manufacture metal structures at a plant in Voronezh.
As the vice-premier stated, another span of the road part of the Crimean bridge was destroyed and cannot be restored. He noted that there was no damage to the bridge piers, they are in “normal condition”. On September 15, two-way traffic will be opened on one side of the bridge, traffic will be launched on the other side in November. to a supermarket for truck drivers waiting in line at the Kerch ferry crossing in the port of Crimea. They can apply for free water and food. According to Aksyonov, about 700 cars are waiting for crossing the Kerch Strait from the Crimean side. The queue should disappear within 24 hours.
Explosion on July 17
On Monday night, the Crimean bridge was attacked by two surface drones with explosives. The explosion destroyed one span of the bridge, the other span received an axial displacement, tilted and sank. On the fact of the incident, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on a terrorist attack (Article 205 of the Criminal Code, up to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment). Gazeta conducted an online report on the events around this incident.
Alexei and Natalya Kulik, a married couple from the Belgorod region, were killed in the explosion. They were in the car with their 14-year-old daughter. The girl was taken to the Krasnodar hospital. She was diagnosed with a craniocerebral injury, pulmonary contusion, multiple stab wounds.
Due to the attack, traffic on the Crimean bridge was temporarily suspended. The authorities of the peninsula urged tourists and guests of the republic to use alternative routes.
After the attack, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev announced the need to “blow up their (terrorists. – Gazeta”) their own houses and the houses of their relatives “.