(Kyiv) Ukraine threatened on Wednesday to dismantle the Kerch Bridge, built at great expense by Moscow to connect Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula, where several explosions took place at Russian military bases.
Posted at 9:40 a.m.
“This bridge is an illegal structure and Ukraine did not give permission for its construction. It damages the ecology of the peninsula and must therefore be dismantled. It doesn’t matter how: voluntarily or not, ”wrote on Telegram the adviser to the Ukrainian presidency Mikhaïlo Podoliak.
The Kerch Bridge, which was inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in May 2018, represented a colossal and costly two-year project to build the 19 kilometers linking mainland Russia to Crimea and open up the peninsula four years after its annexation by Moscow.
This veiled threat from Mr. Podoliak comes after a series of explosions in Crimea, which Russia is using as a logistical rear base for its invasion of Ukraine launched on February 24.
On Tuesday, an attack targeted an ammunition depot on a military base near Djankoï, in northern Crimea, Moscow evoking an “act of sabotage” without naming those responsible.
A week earlier, explosions had occurred at the Russian military airfield in Saki, in the west of the peninsula, killing one person and injuring several.
While Ukraine has not acknowledged its responsibility for these attacks, its officials have not failed to ironically suggest that these incidents were due to poorly extinguished cigarettes or poor compliance with fire regulations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had assured him that Kyiv “will never give up” its intention to retake Crimea from Russia.