Ukraine's Security Service and Navy damaged Crimean Bridge
Ukrainska Pravda sources have reported that the night attack on the Crimean Bridge was a special operation by the Security Service of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Navy.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda source in Ukraine’s Security Service; Kremlin-aligned news agency RIA Novosti on Telegram
Quote: "Ukraine’s Security Service and the Ukrainian Navy were involved in the blowing up of the Crimean Bridge overnight."
Details: The bridge was attacked using surface drones.
Ukrainska Pravda’s source noted that it was difficult to reach the bridge, but finally it was done.
Відео пошкоджень на Кримському мосту. Відео з Telegram-каналу The Insider pic.twitter.com/uQah84oX9I
— Українська правда ✌️ (@ukrpravda_news) July 17, 2023Advertisement:
Nataliia Humeniuk, Head of the Joint press centre of the Defence Forces of Ukraine's south, suggested on air during the national joint 24/7 newscast that the events on the Crimean Bridge could have been a provocation by the Russians themselves.
The Ukrainian Security Service has not yet officially commented on the collapse of a span of the Crimean Bridge.
Meanwhile, the SSU's Telegram channel posted a joke message referencing a traditional Ukrainian song: "Nightingale, dear brother, the bridge has gone to sleep again... And once... twice! P.S. Music: folk song. Lyrics by the SSU", which may be a hint at the SSU’s possible involvement in these events.
The SSU posted a similar message on 8 October 2022 when the Crimean Bridge was damaged for the first time, apparently by a truck exploding.
On that occasion the SSU paraphrased a verse by Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, "Dawn, the Bridge is burning beautifully; in Crimea, the Nightingale is met by the SSU".
Ukrainska Pravda sources reported that the SSU was behind the bombing of the Crimean Bridge on 8 October 2022.
Earlier, Vasyl Maliuk, Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, stated that the bridge was a perfectly legitimate target for Ukraine and promised to reveal the details of these unique special operations after victory.
Update at 10:20: Later, the Russian propaganda outlet RIA Novosti also mentioned the theory that two surface drones were used, citing the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NATC) of the Russian Federation.
The NATC claimed that the attack on the Crimean Bridge "was carried out at 03:05 by two Ukrainian unmanned surface vehicles". A criminal case has been opened on charges of terrorist activity.
Російські слідчі працюють на пошкодженому мосту. Відео з Telegram Слідкому РФ pic.twitter.com/xud3ioKFqN
— Українська правда ✌️ (@ukrpravda_news) July 17, 2023
Background:
- Sergei Aksyonov, so-called Head of the Russian administration in occupied Crimea, said that an "emergency" had happened on the Crimean Bridge and the bridge has therefore been closed to traffic. Russian Telegram channels have reported that a span on the bridge has collapsed.
- Russian media have previously asserted that the Crimean Bridge is guarded from the sky by fighter jets and underwater by divers and "combat dolphins".
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