Russia says ‘no damage' to Crimea bridge after Ukraine attack
MOSCOW: Moscow said Wednesday that a Ukrainian attack on a bridge that links the annexed Crimean peninsula to Russia caused 'no damage.'
Ukraine's SBU security service said Tuesday it had detonated a bomb on one of the bridge's underwater pillars, publishing footage of a blast coming out of the water and debris flying.
'There was indeed an explosion,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
'Nothing was damaged. The bridge is working,' he said.
Ukraine has targeted the 19-kilometre (12-mile) bridge repeatedly since Russia launched its full-scale military offensive in February 2022.
It was severely damaged in October 2022 when a bomb loaded onto a truck exploded on the bridge, reducing transport capacity and forcing Russia to undertake months of repairs.
Ukraine says the road and rail link is used to move Russian troops and military equipment -- making it a legitimate target.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 at the start of fighting between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatists in the east following a pro-EU revolution in Ukraine.
The multi-billion-dollar bridge was opened in 2018 and is seen by both Ukraine and Russia as a highly symbolic marker of Moscow's seizure of the peninsula.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Evacuate now, Israel warns Gaza as Eid begins
GAZA CITY: The Israeli military issued an evacuation order for residents of parts of Gaza City on Friday ahead of an attack, as it presses an intensified campaign in the battered Palestinian territory. "This is a final and urgent warning ahead of an impending strike," army spokesman Avichay Adraee said. The army "will strike all areas from which rockets are launched." The evacuation order comes at the beginning of the Eid al-Adha holiday, one of the main religious festivals of the Muslim calendar. The Israeli military has recently stepped up its campaign in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war. International calls for a negotiated ceasefire have grown in recent weeks. Hamas's lead negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya said on Thursday that the Palestinian group was ready to enter a new round of talks aimed at sealing a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Talks aimed at brokering a new ceasefire have failed to yield a breakthrough since the last brief truce fell apart in March with the resumption of Israeli operations in Gaza. Israel and Hamas appeared close to an agreement late last month, but a deal proved elusive, with each side accusing the other of scuppering a US-backed proposal. Israel has faced mounting pressure to allow more aid into Gaza, after it imposed a more than two-month blockade that led to widespread shortages of food and other essentials. It recently eased the blockade and has worked with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to implement a new aid distribution mechanism via a handful of centres in south and central Gaza. But since its inception, the GHF has been a magnet for criticism from the UN and other members of the aid world – which only intensified following a recent string of deadly incidents near its facilities. Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 4,402 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,677, mostly civilians.--AFP
New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Myanmar arrests 16, including 6-year-old, over general's assassination
YANGON: Myanmar authorities have arrested 16 people including a six-year-old girl over the assassination of a retired general shot dead in Yangon last month, state media said. Cho Tun Aung, a former ambassador to Cambodia, was gunned down outside his home on May 22 in an attack claimed by an anti-junta group calling itself the "Golden Valley Warriors." Myanmar's military seized power in a 2021 coup, plunging the country into a complex, multi-sided civil war involving pro-democracy guerrillas and resurgent ethnic minority armed groups. Most fighting is confined to the countryside and smaller towns but grenade and gun attacks on junta-linked targets are regularly reported in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city and commercial hub. The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said 16 members of the Golden Valley Warriors – 13 men and three females – had been arrested in various locations. Those held include the wife and six-year-old daughter of the suspected shooter, identified as Myo Ko Ko, the state-run newspaper said, without explaining what the girl is accused of. The report said Myo Ko Ko and another suspect rode to the general's home on bicycles and shot him before fleeing to a safe house. The junta has suffered significant territorial setbacks in recent months but analysts say it is far from defeat, with a powerful air force supplied with Russian jets and military backing from China.--AFP
Free Malaysia Today
5 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Musk ‘very welcome' in Europe after Trump bust-up, says official
Elon Musk's row with Donald Trump saw the president threaten to strip him of government contracts estimated at US$18 billion. (EPA Images pic) BRUSSELS : Elon Musk is 'very welcome' in Europe, a spokesman for the European Commission quipped today, following the tech billionaire's spectacular public falling-out with US President Donald Trump. The Trump-Musk political marriage blew up yesterday as the president declared himself 'very disappointed' in criticisms from his former aide and top donor, before the pair hurled insults at each other on social media. At the commission's daily briefing, spokeswoman Paula Pinho was asked whether Musk had reached out to the EU with a view to relocating his businesses, or setting up new ones. 'He's very welcome,' she replied with a smile. The commission's spokesman for tech matters, Thomas Regnier, followed up by stressing – straight-faced – that 'everyone is very welcome indeed to start and to scale in the EU'. 'That is precisely the objective of Choose Europe,' he said, referencing an EU initiative in favour of start-ups and expanding businesses. Musk has been a frequent critic of the 27-nation EU – attacking its digital laws as censorship and berating its leaders, while cheering on the ascendant far-right in Germany and elsewhere. The tycoon's row with Trump saw the president threaten to strip him of government contracts estimated at US$18 billion – with Musk vowing in response to end a critical US spaceship programme. Explaining the rift, Trump said Musk had gone 'crazy' about a plan to end electric vehicle subsidies in the new US spending bill – as the bust-up sent shares in Musk's Tesla car company plunging.
