(Moscow) The road part of the Russian Crimean bridge destroyed in the fall by an explosion attributed to Ukraine was returned to service on Thursday, a Russian deputy prime minister announced, on the eve of the first anniversary of the offensive Russian against its neighbour.
The explosion of a truck at the beginning of October, on this work symbolizing for the Kremlin its power and the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, had constituted a humiliation for Russia, even if the Ukrainian authorities have always denied having attacked the viaduct .
“The automobile part of the Crimean bridge has been completely restored,” said Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khousnulline on Telegram.
He assured that the workers had worked around the clock to complete the work in 4 and a half months, completing the site “39 days in advance”, a “great gift”, according to him, as Russia marks the Defender of the Fatherland Day.
The railway part of the viaduct is still under construction and should not reopen before the summer.
The explosion on the Crimean bridge, which killed three people, caused a shock in Russia: the fact that such a crucial infrastructure and so far from the front could be damaged represented indeed a major snub for Moscow.
This concrete bridge, built at great expense on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin to connect the annexed peninsula to Russian territory, is used in particular to transport military equipment from the Russian army fighting in Ukraine.