ANALYSIS – Ukraine keeps hitting targets in Russia or Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. Most recently attacking the critical bridge linking Russian-occupied Crimea with the Russian mainland.
Russia illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and built the bridge in 2018.
The 12-mile-long bridge, which includes tandem road and rail lines, holds major importance for Russia. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson Appears Wrong About Who Destroyed Ukrainian Dam)
Russian officials have halted traffic on the bridge after a Ukrainian attack on Monday caused parts of it to collapse, killing two people.
Vehicle traffic on the Kerch Bridge came to a standstill, while rail traffic across the span also was halted for about six hours.
A Ukraine intelligence source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the SBU – the country's security service – and its naval forces were behind the assault, according to the Financial Times. (RELATED: Entire Service Branch Faces Absolutely Crucial Foreign Policy Dilemma)
The strike was carried out by two Ukrainian maritime drones, Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee said.
CNN later confirmed:
Ukraine's minister for digital transformation later said that the bridge was struck by “naval drones.”
“Today the Crimean bridge was blown up by naval drones,” Mykhailo Fedorov said on Telegram on Monday “It is better to act, not to reveal photos of our own production facilities and to supply the defense forces,” Fedorov said.
The bridge was previously attacked in October when a truck bomb blew up two of its sections and required months of repair. (RELATED: Putin Responds After Explosion Damages Bridge Essential to Russia's War)
Why is this heavily guarded bridge so important?
As The New York Times reported:
The Kerch Strait Bridge, which opened in 2018, is a vital supply route for goods heading to the Crimean Peninsula. It also carries Russian tourists to the region's beaches, which are most popular in summertime.
Before the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia's military used the bridge to transport supplies to its troops in the region, including to the naval port at Sevastopol, home of its Black Sea Fleet. Since last year, the bridge has also been an important conduit for reinforcements and supplies to Russian troops who have seized control of territory in southern Ukraine.
For the Kremlin, the bridge is a symbol of the connection it is attempting to forge between Crimea and Russia. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia drove a truck across its 12-mile length when it was opened, and two months after it was damaged last October, he again drove across as he inspected repairs.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Maybe Putie can take another ride today.
The Kersch Bridge is a vital part of Russia’s despicable attempts to conquer Ukraine and replace its population with Russians. Therefore, it is a legitimate target for destruction. I’m amazed the Ukrainian underwater drones were able to take it down. Hopefully they can continue to drop more spans into the water and it may have a huge Russian convoy crossing when that happens.
This was an excellent move. However it should have been far more devastating like taking out more that one section. Five or six sections damaged would have made it unusable for a very long time.
Good slow Russian supplies coming