Russian government wants Crimean Bridge repaired by July
IRYNA BALACHUK — FRIDAY, 14 OCTOBER 2022, 11:02
The Russian government has ordered that the Crimean Bridge be rebuilt no later than 1 July 2023. Nizhneangarsktransstroy [a construction company in Irkutsk — ed.] will carry out the works.
Source: Kremlin-aligned news agency RIA Novosti, citing the corresponding order of 13 October
Quote from order: "To set 1 July 2023 as the deadline for the conclusion of state contracts for the performance of the works."
Details: By the same document, the Russian government has appointed Nizhneangarsktransstroy LLC as the sole contractor for the bridge restoration works.
For reference: The construction of the Crimean Bridge has been underway since 2015 in violation of international law, as Ukraine did not give any such permission. The road part of the bridge was officially opened in occupied Crimea in May 2018. Putin presided over the opening of the bridge, driving a truck across the bridge from Taman to Kerch.
Background:
- On the morning of 8 October, it was reported that a large fire had broken out on the railway portion of the Crimean Bridge.
- The occupying authorities in Crimea claimed that a truck had exploded on the Crimean Bridge. Meanwhile, Volodymyr Konstantinov, the so-called head of the Parliament of Crimea, said that the road surface on the Crimean Bridge had been damaged by "Ukrainian vandals". The New York Times reported that Ukraine’s intelligence services had orchestrated the attack on the Crimean Bridge.
- Later, Sergey Aksyonov, the "head" of the occupation administration of Crimea, claimed that the movement of cars and buses across the Crimean Bridge had resumed.
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