A Russian ammunition depot blew up in Crimea today, following a Ukrainian attack that prompted evacuations and paralyzed rail traffic, five days after an attack damaged a strategic Russian bridge in that region annexed by the Kremlin in 2014.
Ukraine launched a counteroffensive at the beginning of June to reconquer the territories seized by Russia and expressed its intention to recover Crimea.
Yesterday, speaking by videoconference at the Aspen Security Forum, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky estimated that the Crimean bridge, built in violation of international law, according to him, should be “neutralized.”
The Kerch bridge is the only infrastructure linking this peninsula to Russia. It is used to transport Russian military equipment to the Ukrainian front.
“As a result of an enemy drone strike in the Krasnogvardeiski district, there was an explosion at an ammunition depot,” pro-Russian Crimean leader Sergei Aksionov said on Telegram today.
“It was decided to evacuate people who live within a radius of 5 kilometers,” and “to minimize the risks, also stop rail traffic,” he said, quoted by the AFP news agency. Road traffic was very briefly interrupted.
Aksionov stated that there were no casualties, but did not specify where exactly the attack took place, stating only that it was in the Krasnogvardeiski district, located in central Crimea.
Attacks on this Black Sea peninsula have intensified in recent weeks.
Five days ago an attack hit the Crimean bridge, which had already been attacked by Ukrainian troops in October 2022.
Naval drones caused considerable damage and two civilians driving on the bridge were killed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised a “response” from his army and called for “improving security” on the bridge.
Source: Ambito
