KYIV (Reuters) – The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) took responsibility for a sabotage operation that caused significant damage to the Russian-made Kerch Bridge connecting occupied Crimea with Russia in October last year. Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the SBU, revealed this information during the presentation of a commemorative postage stamp honoring wartime special forces operations, which was broadcasted on television.
Malyuk stated, “There were many different operations, special operations. We’ll be able to speak about some of them publicly and aloud after the victory, we will not talk at all about others.” He also confirmed, “It is one of our actions, namely the destruction of the Crimean bridge on Oct. 8 last year.”
Last October, a powerful explosion caused significant damage to the bridge. Russian authorities claimed that a truck crossing the bridge exploded, resulting in the deaths of three individuals.
While Malyuk admitted to the SBU’s involvement in the attack on the bridge last year, he did not disclose any information regarding the recent attack on the bridge that occurred this month.
The 19 km (12 mile) Crimean Bridge spanning the Kerch Strait is the sole direct link between Russia’s transport network and the Crimean peninsula. Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has occupied it since then.
The construction of the bridge was a significant accomplishment for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who personally inaugurated it in 2018 by driving a truck across it in a highly publicized ceremony. Subsequently, it served as a vital supply route for Russian forces following their invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, when they captured territories in southern Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by Tom Balmforth and Alison Williams)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
