Ukraine shifts strategy on Crimean Bridge after peace summit
- The Crimean Bridge is no longer important from a military point of view, so its destruction will not have the same impact as at the beginning of the war with Russia, said Dmytro Pletentchuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy. This surprising statement came right after the peace summit in Switzerland. Just a few weeks earlier, Kyiv had vowed that the crossing connecting occupied Crimea with Russia would be destroyed.
3:49 PM EDT, June 17, 2024
The Navy spokesperson admitted that the current military transports across the bridge are sporadic. - Therefore, it no longer has such tactical and strategic significance. There is no point in destroying the bridge just to feel better, said Pletentchuk.
- This bridge carries less than a quarter of the total transport. The rest goes via the ferry crossing, which we recently attacked, reminded the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy.
They promised to destroy the crossing
As Ukrainian media remind us, in the fall of last year, a representative of the Ukrainian Navy called the Crimean Bridge a "significant target for the Ukrainian army" and promised that it "would be destroyed when the situation required it."
The head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Vasyl Malyuk, also said in the fall of last year that his intelligence was preparing many "surprises" for Russia, including the destruction of the Crimean Bridge. He said it was a legitimate target for attacks under international law, the law of war, and Ukrainian legislation.
In April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that during the new offensive in 2024, the Armed Forces of Ukraine plan to focus on attacks on Russian bridges and airports, including the destruction of the Crimean Bridge.
The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, simultaneously admitted that Russia is well-protecting the Crimean Bridge, but Ukrainian forces are "working" on this issue. At the same time, in June Budanov noted that the Russian army uses the bridge for military transport, particularly personnel.
Crimean Bridge attacked twice
Following statements from the Ukrainian side, the Kremlin assured that Russian special services are taking into account the Ukrainian authorities' plans to strike the Crimean Bridge and are taking all necessary actions.
After the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the crossing twice. On October 8, 2022, a truck exploded on the bridge. Five people died, and several spans of the highway were destroyed. The bridge was damaged for the second time on July 17, 2023, by Ukrainian marine drones.
