Russia blames new Crimea bridge attack on Ukraine

CRIMEA, July 17: Two people are reported to have died in an attack on the Kerch bridge linking the Crimean peninsula to Russia. A source in Ukraine's security service told BBC Russian that Ukraine used surface drones during the attack.

The Russian-installed head of Crimea's parliament reported explosions during the attack by Ukraine. Russia’s transport ministry stated that the explosion did not damage the bridge’s support infrastructure and that only the road surface has been affected. 

Traffic on the bridge was stopped due to an “emergency” on the Russian side of the bridge according to Russian officials. The road section of the bridge has been closed but trains are running on the railway section which enables travel between Russia and Crimea.

The bridge was opened by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018 but was partially closed from October to February last year after a major explosion, the cause of which remains unclear.

(BBC)