A Ukrainian sea drone attack hit the Crimean Bridge, causing a span to collapse and kill two people.
The explosions took place during the night, at 3.04 and 3.20 local time.
Russian authorities have closed traffic on the bridge. Two people in a car died when the span of the structure collapsed: they are a man and a woman, the couple's youngest daughter was injured, suffering a "moderate head trauma", said the governor of the Belgorod Oblast of Russia, Vyaceslav Gladkov.
"Images of the destruction of the Crimean bridge following what is believed to be an attack by two autonomous unmanned submarines of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry," reads the text of the message released on Telegram by the pro-Russian channel Gray Zone, which publishes some photos of the destroyed part of the bridge.
«Last night the terrorist regime in Kiev committed yet another crime by attacking the Crimean bridge. Kiev should have known that the street is a purely civilian structure, but things like this have never stopped the terrorists,” said Crimean State Council Chairman Vladimir Konstantinov.
THE CLAIM OF KIEV
Ukraine has claimed responsibility for the attack. The spokesman of the Civil Security Service (SBU) Artem Dekhtyarenko, interviewed by Rbc-Ukraine, said that «all the details will be revealed after Ukraine's victory over Russia. Meanwhile, we observe with interest how one of the symbols of Putin's regime has once again failed to resist the attacks.
“All illegal facilities used to deliver Russia's instruments of mass extermination necessarily have a short life. Regardless of the cause of the destruction,” commented Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak.
"ATTACK LEAD BY USA AND UK"
Moscow accuses the US and Great Britain: "The Kiev regime led by Washington and London is a terrorist regime that bears all the signs of an international organized criminal group," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. «Today's attack on the Crimean bridge was carried out by the terrorist regime in Kiev. Decisions are made by Ukrainian officials and military with the direct participation of US and British intelligence and politicians. The United States and the United Kingdom operate this state-type terrorist structure.
STOP THE WHEAT AGREEMENT
"In fact, the Black Sea deal stopped working today," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov. “Unfortunately, the Russia-related part of these agreements has not yet been implemented, so its validity has expired. As soon as the Russian side of the agreements is satisfied, Russia will immediately return to the implementation of the agreement,” Peskov said. In recent weeks, Russia has claimed that "obstacles" to Russian exports of cereals and fertilizers have not been removed. So the agreement, which expires today, will not be renewed.
(Unioneonline/L)