International

Russia targets southern Ukraine with drones, missiles after attack on Crimean bridge

A Russian military helicopter flies over damaged parts of an automobile link of the Crimean Bridge connecting Russian mainland and Crimean peninsula over the Kerch Strait not far from Kerch, Crimea, on Monday, July 17, 2023. An attack before dawn damaged part of a bridge linking Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea that is a key supply route for Kremlin forces in the war with Ukraine. The strike Monday has forced the span’s temporary closure for a second time in less than a year. (AP Photo)

Russia targeted southern Ukraine with a barrage of drones and missiles early Tuesday, following Monday’s fatal attack on a key bridge in Crimea.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it launched the “strike of retribution” against facilities where “terror attacks” against Russian forces using maritime drones were prepared, as well as a ship repair plant that was manufacturing the drones. It also claimed to have destroyed fuel storage facilities near Odesa and Mykolaiv.

Moscow blamed Monday’s explosion of a portion of the 12-mile Kerch Bridge in Crimea, which killed a married couple and injured their daughter, on two Ukrainian maritime drones, labeling it a terrorist attack.

Ukraine said on Tuesday that Russia had launched several waves of attack drones before firing six Kalibr cruise missiles at Odesa. 

However, the governor of the Odesa oblast claimed that Ukrainian air defenses destroyed all six missiles, while debris from the missiles and shock waves damaged port infrastructure facilities and several private homes. 

Shortly after Monday’s attack on the Kerch Bridge, Moscow halted its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had allowed Ukraine to continue to export grain and other food products to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia amid the war.

However, Russia has maintained that there is no connection between the decision to end its participation in the deal and the attack on the bridge, according to Reuters.

The Associated Press contributed.

Tags Crimea Kerch Bridge Mykolaiv Odesa russia Russia-Ukraine war ukraine

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