Smoke rises from Russia’s Kerch bridge to Crimea: Kremlin claims to have shot down two Ukrainian missiles aimed at crucial connection to annexed peninsula

The Kremlin has claimed it shot down two Ukrainian missiles aimed at Russia’s Kerch bridge to Crimea, as video shows smoke rising over the crucial connection to the annexed peninsula.

The 20-kilometer-long Kerch Bridge is of great significance to Moscow, both logistically and psychologically, as a major thoroughfare for military and civilian supplies and as an affirmation of the Kremlin’s control of the peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014.

Last week, a Ukrainian naval drone hit a Russian tanker near the bridge, while an attack on the bridge last month killed a couple and seriously injured their daughter, leaving part of the road hanging precariously.

The damage appeared less severe than that caused by an attack in October, but it again highlighted the bridge’s £3bn vulnerability. Traffic was halted, but Russian officials said there were no casualties.

As videos circulated on Russian social media that appeared to show smoke rising over the bridge on Saturday, Moscow-appointed Crimea governor Sergei Aksyonov reported that Russian air defenses had also shot down two Ukrainian missiles.

The Ukrainian missile was detected in time and intercepted in mid-air by Russian air defense systems. No damage or casualties reported,” the ministry said in a statement.

An adviser to Mr. Aksyonov, Oleg Kryuchkov, claimed that “a smokescreen had been erected by special services.”

The Kerch Bridge connecting Crimea to Russia has great significance for Moscow

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine was attempting to destroy the bridge using S-200 anti-aircraft missiles.

The alleged attack would be the first time the vital bridge has been targeted during the daytime.

Last month, dramatic images showed the moment massive explosions ripped through the intersection, with large flashes and thunderous explosions being seen and heard from neighboring towns.

Part of the crossing was destroyed in the twin attack, with pictures of twisted metal barriers, debris and a damaged car dealing a major blow to Moscow’s war effort.

Russian officials accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack with British and American involvement – without providing any evidence.

Putin’s outraged propagandists then predictably echoed the Kremlin’s line and called on Moscow to launch a retaliatory attack on London’s Tower Bridge, describing the landmark as a “legitimate target.”

The latest alleged attack on the Kerch Bridge came just hours after Moscow claimed they shot down 20 drones targeting Crimea in the early hours of Saturday.

Fourteen drones were shot down by Russian air defenses and another six were electronically blocked, the ministry said in a Telegram post. No casualties or damage were reported.

Officials in Kiev neither confirmed nor denied Ukraine’s involvement in the attacks.

The attempted drone and missile strikes follow three consecutive days of drone strikes on the Russian capital Moscow.

The alleged attack would be the first time the vital bridge (pictured) has been targeted during the daytime.

Last month, dramatic images showed the moment massive explosions ripped through the 12-mile crossing

Pictured: The £3 billion damaged Crimean bridge following a drone strike last month

The firing of drones at Russia after more than 17 months of war apparently has little military value for Ukraine, but the strategy has upset Russians and made them understand the consequences of the conflict.

Drone attacks have increased in recent weeks, both on Moscow and Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 – a move considered illegal by most people.

Officials in Kiev neither confirmed nor denied the possible involvement of Ukraine in the attempted attacks.

Elsewhere, Russia claimed it had regained control of the village of Uroshaine in Ukraine’s easternmost region of Luhansk in a nighttime counterattack.

A 73-year-old woman was killed early Saturday morning in Russian shelling in Ukraine’s northeastern region of Kharkiv, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said a police officer was killed and 12 injured when a guided Russian aerial bomb hit the town of Orikhiv in Ukraine’s partially occupied southern Zaporizhzhia region.

Four of the injured were also police officers, he said.

Meanwhile, local officials reported Saturday morning explosions in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but that there were no known casualties.

On the Black Sea coast of Ukraine, the city of Odessa opened several beaches for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Odessa governor Oleh Kiper said six beaches were open, but stressed that access to beaches during air raids was prohibited.

The strategic port and main hub for grain exports has been the victim of repeated missile and drone strikes – especially since Moscow canceled a historic grain deal last month amid Kiev’s frantic efforts to retake occupied territories – while there regularly Russian mines have washed up on the city’s beaches. .