UPDATE: Monday, July 17 at 9:25 pm
Addressing a meeting this evening, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised a ‘response’ to the ‘terrorist attack’ allegedly carried out by Kyiv on the Kerch Bridge.
‘This was a senseless crime, from a military point of view, it has no significance, since the Crimean Bridge has not been used for military transportation for a long time. And, it was cruel, because innocent civilians were hurt and killed’, he stated.
‘Of course, there will be a response from Russia. The Ministry of Defence is preparing appropriate proposals’, the leader continued, as reported by tass.ru.
He also instructed the leadership of the Belgorod region and the federal authorities ‘to provide all necessary assistance to the injured girl, whose parents died in the terrorist attack, as well as to her relatives, and to take this issue under control’.
The FSB, the RF IC and a number of other departments were subsequently ordered by Putin to ‘find out what happened’.
One part of the bridge’s superstructure was totally destroyed
Marat Khusnullin, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, reporting on the damage caused by the explosions, explained: ‘One superstructure of the automobile section in the direction of Taman was completely destroyed and cannot be restored’.
He added: ‘Another span from the second side in the direction of Kerch was damaged, there was an axial displacement of 70-80 cm, but in general, it is on a support’.
Divers carried out an inspection of the structure which found that the main supports were not badly damaged. ‘This is good news’, Putin said, before adding: ‘If at all we can talk about some good news here’.
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Monday, July 17 at 6:02 pm
An attack on the Crimean Kerch Bridge in the early hours of Monday, July 17, has been blamed on Ukraine by Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC).
Moscow claimed that the assault in the area of the 145th support was carried out by two naval drones at around 3:05 am. A married couple was killed by the ensuing explosions and their daughter was rushed into an intensive care unit.
Dimitri Peskov, the Kremlin Press Secretary, announced that the authorities know exactly who was behind what the NAC has classified as a terrorist attack.
President Vladimir Putin is expected to make a televised appearance at some point this evening in relation to the incident, according to gazeta.ru.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Khusnullin said that divers have been conducting an inspection of the bridge. Its supports were not previously damaged he confirmed. ‘Now we are discussing whether it is possible to start the machines. There will be a decision in a couple of hours’, he added.
Tourists are stranded on the peninsula after the explosions
Today’s attack comes after thousands of tourists flocked to Crimea for their summer holidays. The vast majority who were due to leave are now stranded on the territory while the bridge is being inspected.
The Association of Tour Operators of Russia announced that large hotels on the peninsula will be providing accommodation to allow tourists to extend their stay for a day or two, free of charge.
Andriy Kozenko, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Government confirmed that the land corridor to Crimea is currently controlled by law enforcement agencies.
‘The route is absolutely safe. It is controlled by the National Guard, military police officers, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The traffic police work along the entire route, and there are checkpoints that track cars in the traffic flow, for which there are possibly delays or diversions’, he stressed.
It could take two or three weeks to repair the damage
It is thought that repair work will take at least two or three weeks before the Kerch bridge can be fully operational again.
Speaking on the Russia-24 TV channel, Vladimir Saldo, Acting Governor of the region confirmed that the authorities of Crimea and the Kherson region have agreed to abolish passport control when leaving the peninsula across the administrative border between the regions.
A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry on Telegram pointed out that the attack had targeted a civilian structure. It read: ‘The Russian Foreign Ministry strongly condemns the terrorist attack against the Crimean Bridge, which is a purely civilian facility’.
‘We hope that the international community and specialised multilateral bodies will show integrity and give a proper assessment of the next crime of the Ukrainian authorities’, it continued.
It concluded: ‘Damage to the roadbed of the Crimean bridge resulting from the terrorist attack will be repaired as soon as possible. All attempts to disrupt transport links with the peninsula and tear off Crimea from the rest of Russia are obviously impossible’.
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