2023-08-05 00:48:16
According to Russian and Ukrainian media, there were several explosions near the Crimean Bridge on Saturday night. Ukrainian media reported three explosions near the bridge between the Moscow-held Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and mainland Russia. The bridge should be completely darkened and closed to traffic. The Tass news agency reported that a Russian tanker was damaged in an attack in the strait.
The engine room of the tanker was damaged, but the crew of the ship is safe, Tass reported, citing the coordination center for sea rescue in Novorossiysk. According to media reports, the attack was a Ukrainian drone attack.
A representative of the Russian occupation administration in Crimea spoke on Telegram of an “active dangerous situation”. An official also denied that the Crimean bridge had been hit. “Again, there was no direct attack on the Crimean bridge, nor was there an explosion in the immediate vicinity,” Sergey Kryuchkov said, according to Russian news agencies.
Russian state media reported that a rescue team had moved towards a tanker. An alleged Russian radio message to the ships in the Kerch Strait was also published on the Internet. It calls on all ships to be more vigilant in the event of an attack by air and sea drones. In an alleged radio call from the hit tanker published online, one of the crew members explains that the engine room is flooded and the ship is said to be immobilized.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has previously warned that from July 21, 2023, all ships calling at Black Sea ports of the Russian Federation and Ukrainian ports temporarily occupied by Russia will be considered military targets by Ukraine. Ukraine has repeatedly attacked Russian naval ships and also the bridge to the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea, which Russia illegally annexed. The country has been defending itself against Russian war of aggression for more than 17 months.
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