Video on social media has shown smoke engulfing the Kerch Bridge that links Russia and Crimea as Moscow-installed authorities said the annexed peninsula faced aerial attacks.
An air raid alert sounded for two hours and traffic along the bridge was stopped on Wednesday as footage on the Russian-language Telegram account Baza showed a smokescreen to obscure missiles or drones that might target the structure.
In recent months, Kyiv has stepped up its attacks on Crimea that was illegally seized by Russia in 2014 and which Ukraine has vowed to recapture as part of its aims in the 20-month-old war. Kyiv frequently does not claim responsibility for such strikes and has not commented on the latest activity at the bridge that was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Ukrainian internal affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko.
Screen grab via X
Mikhail Razvozhayev, governor of the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, wrote on Telegram on Wednesday that Russia’s military was working “to destroy a large number of various air targets in different areas throughout the peninsula.”
“The main thing is not to be in open spaces,” he wrote, because during an air defense operation, “fragments pose the main danger.
“I ask you to remain calm, observe safety measures, and stay in temporary shelters or safe places.”
In a follow-up post, he said that the air alerts were over.
The X account (((Tendar))), which posts updates about the war in Ukraine, shared the footage of the smoke, adding that it was unclear whether it was “for precautionary purposes or due to an exercise.”
Vladimir Saldo, governor of the Russian-occupied Kherson oblast in Ukraine, reported on his Telegram channel that Russia’s air defenses shot down seven Ukrainian missiles over the region “launched by the enemy from aircraft and flying to Crimea.”
He said that most of the missiles were destroyed in the air and two detonated on the ground, adding that no one was injured nor any infrastructure damaged.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry by email for comment.
There is now a yellow level of terrorist danger for Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as in Russian border regions of Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod, where Ukrainian Armed Forces are said to have carried out attacks, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Ukraine said it struck part of Russia’s air defense system in western Crimea, while Russia claimed to have shot down on Monday eight British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles that Ukraine’s forces had fired into Crimea, the outlet said.
There were reports Monday of several explosions in Sevastopol, with Russian-backed authorities saying anti-aircraft operations were being conducted.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.