On Monday, an explosion took place on the single bridge that links Russia to occupied Crimean Peninsula, killing two people and injuring a child, as reported by the RBC Ukraine news agency.
The Crimea Bridge serves as a crucial supply route for the Russian forces in the war torn Ukraine. The bridge stretches for 19kms over the Kerch Strait and serves as the only direct link between the transport network of Russia and Moscow-annexed Crimea.
Russian President Putin responded to the blast as a “terrorist” act by Ukraine, however Kyiv has not officially taken any responsibility of the explosion. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba said, “The truth is that one broken bridge means fewer broken Ukrainian lives.” He further added that the bridge was being used for supplying fuel, food and other products to the Russian army in Crimea and other parts of southern Ukraine. Besides the route was used for sending forces from Crimea to sieze most of southern Ukraine’s Kherson region and some of the adjoining Zaporizhia province.
ALSO READ: In Pictures: Satellite Images Of the Damaged Crimea Bridge
European Space Imaging (EUSI) partner, Maxar collected satellite imageryย of the Kerch Strait which reveals new damage to the Crimea Bridge, which connects Crimea to Russiaโs mainland.
Here is a small video pointing at the attack, captured by satellite imagery, shared on Twitter by @wtnv:
High-resolution satellite images of #CrimeanBridge on the morning of July 17. The bridge girder has fallen; it is about 8.5 km away from the destruction site in October 2022. https://t.co/ZiJzccYILc pic.twitter.com/TJcShSYgT0
โ ๆธก้่ฑๅพณ wtnv (@hwtnv) July 17, 2023
Amidst reports of a recent targeted attack, the imagery indicates that at least one section of the bridge span has been damaged. Approximately 20 vehicles are seen near the ruptured section of the bridge, likely associated with personnel surveying the damage. Elsewhere, no vehicles are seen traveling across the bridge in either direction.
Find the gallery here:
