The adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, Anton Gherashchenko, published on social media two photos showing alleged cracks in the support pillars of the famous Kerch Bridge, which connects the Crimean peninsula with mainland Russia, a vital transport artery, the subject of Kremlin propaganda and a critical strategic objective already targeted at the Ukrainian military.
“Photos that appear to show cracks in the supporting pillars of the Kerchi Bridge,” is the comment of the official from Kiev accompanying the post published on Twitter.
The former commander of US troops in Europe, General Ben Hodges, also commented on the images that appeared on the Internet.
“I’m not an engineer or a geologist, but I’ve read that the seabed in the Kerchi Strait is not ideal for building a large bridge, it’s unstable and over time this will cause structural problems,” said Ben Hodges.
A week ago, on the morning of May 24, a column of smoke appeared in the area near the Crimea (Kerci) bridge. The Russian occupation authorities temporarily closed the bridge and claimed that the smoke was due to exercises, writes the Ukrainian publication Pravda.
“The Crimean bridge is closed because of exercises in the area,” said Sergei Aksenov, appointed by the Russians to lead Crimea after the occupation.
Also in May, Britain confirmed the delivery of Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. These missiles have the ability to hit targets 250 kilometers away, making them theoretically capable of hitting the Kerch Bridge, a vital objective linking mainland Russia to Crimea, which military experts say will be a strategic target targeted by Ukrainians in the event of a counter-offensive that would seek the liberation of the Crimean peninsula.
Incidentally, this strategic bridge of Putin’s was already damaged following an attack that took place in October 2022. It is assumed that the attack was carried out with the help of kamikaze naval drones.
Editor: Mihnea Lazar