Russia on Saturday stated that its forces destroyed three Ukrainian naval drones used in an attempt to strike a vital bridge connecting Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea, forcing the crossing to close for the third time in less than a year, news agency Associated Press (AP) reported.
According to Russia’s Defence Ministry, one naval drone was destroyed late Friday and two more were destroyed early Saturday morning. Ukrainian officials did not respond immediately. The Kerch bridge, a vital supply line for Kremlin forces in Ukraine, has been repeatedly attacked since Russia started its full-scale invasion.
Three persons were killed in an October blast that Russian police stated was triggered by a truck bomb. A further attack on the bridge in July, which killed a couple and critically injured their daughter, left a section of the roadway precariously hanging.
The bridge between Crimea and Russia is strategically and psychologically important for Moscow, serving as a vital route for military and civilian supplies as well as an expression of Kremlin dominance over the peninsula it annexed in 2014.
According to Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, one civilian was killed and two were injured during shelling of Russia’s Belgorod district bordering Ukraine on Saturday afternoon. Two Ukrainian drones targeted the Valuysky area of the region, inflicting minor damage to a private residence and automobile, while another was intercepted by Russian air defence in the Grayvoronsky district.
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