(Kyiv) Ukrainian forces attacked the strategic Crimean bridge with naval drones overnight from Sunday to Monday, killing two civilians according to Moscow, while uncertainty remains over the future of the grain agreement which is due to expire in the evening.
The Ukrainian attack caused significant damage to the road section of the bridge, the only one that connects Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea annexed by Moscow in 2014, and serves as a rear base for the Russian army fighting in Ukraine.
It was carried out by the Ukrainian special services and naval forces using “naval drones”, a source in the Ukrainian security services (SBU) told AFP on Monday.
PHOTO CRIMEA24TV VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The attack was carried out by Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed on Telegram.
The Russian Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAK) said in a statement that it took place at 3:05 a.m. (8:05 p.m. Eastern Time) and confirmed that it was carried out by “naval surface drones”.
Two civilians, a man and a woman who were driving, were killed there and their daughter injured, the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement on Monday.
The Russian governor of the annexed Crimean peninsula, Sergei Aksionov, had initially mentioned on Telegram an “emergency” which required traffic to be stopped on the bridge, the Russian Ministry of Transport specifying for its part that the roadway had been “damaged”.
On Telegram, the Crimea-24 public television channel posted a video of the bridge showing a partially collapsed portion of its road section. The Investigative Committee also released a video, showing men picking up clues from the causeway leaning out to sea.
PHOTO PHOTO RUSSIAN COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION VIA AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The Crimean Bridge, 18 kilometers long and inaugurated in 2018, consists of two parallel structures, one reserved for road traffic and the other for rail traffic.
The railway section of the bridge was not damaged and traffic resumed there in the morning, Crimean authorities said. Ferry services to cross this arm of the sea have also resumed, motorists wishing to cross the strait being called upon to use them.
The viaduct, which spans the Kerch Strait, had already been damaged on October 8 by a powerful explosion attributed by the Russian authorities to a truck booby-trapped by the Ukrainian secret services.
The concrete bridge, built at great expense on the orders of Vladimir Putin, was then put back into service.
Russian Senate Speaker Sergei Mironov said Moscow should retaliate by attacking Ukrainian infrastructure and halting talks on the grain deal, which expires Monday at midnight (5 p.m. EST).
“That’s what we need to do, not discuss a grain deal that helps Kyiv rulers and their Western masters line their pockets,” he said.
Grain agreement pending
A few hours before its expiry at midnight (5 p.m. Eastern time) in Istanbul, uncertainty remains on Monday about the future of the grain agreement in the Black Sea, considered crucial for world food.
Silence and discretion surrounded all weekend the last-ditch maneuvers led by Turkey and the UN to convince Moscow to extend the cereals agreement signed in July 2022 on the Bosphorus.
It has over the past year ensured the safe passage of cargo ships to and from Ukrainian ports despite the war, transporting a total of almost 33 million tonnes of grain destined for world markets.
But Russia has not announced its green light and the Black Sea Grain Initiative is now de facto at a standstill.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured Friday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “agreed” with him on the extension of the agreement. But the Kremlin spokesman immediately replied that no such statement had been made.
Mr Putin has repeatedly denounced the obstacles to the export of Russian food products and fertilizers, which was to accompany that of Ukrainian products.
He also ruled on Saturday that “the main objective of the agreement, the delivery of cereals to countries in need, particularly on the African continent” was “not achieved”.
According to official data from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) overseeing the deal in Istanbul, China and Turkey are the primary beneficiaries of the shipments, along with developed economies.
But thanks to the agreement, the World Food Program (WFP) was able to relieve a dozen countries in critical situation such as Afghanistan, Sudan or Yemen.
On the military level in Ukraine, Kyiv affirmed Monday to have taken back 18 km2 to Russian forces over the entire territory of Ukraine in a week, including 7 km2 around the devastated city of Bakhmout (East), which fell under Russian control in May after months of deadly clashes.
On Friday, the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriï Yermak, had admitted that the counter-offensive was not advancing “so quickly”.
Despite the delivery of long-awaited Western weapons by Kyiv, the Ukrainian army is facing Russian troops who have time to establish strong defenses, including formidable minefields, and still have significant firepower to shell the Ukrainian forces.