At the crimean bridge and the Traffic according to Russian information due to an “emergency situation” to stop. This is what Russia’s appointed governor wrote Sergei Aksyonov in the Telegram messaging app.
Russian and Ukrainian media reported that explosions were heard earlier on the bridge connecting the Crimean peninsula to Russia’s Krasnodar Krai. According to Russian sources, two people died and a girl – who lost her parents – was injured.
The Russian Telegram Gray Zone channel, which is linked to the Wagner mercenary group, reports two attacks on the Crimean bridge at 3:04 am and 3:20 am. Footage posted on the channel shows at least one bridge section damaged. The extent of the damage apparently done to the carriageway was not initially predictable. It is unlikely that the railway line that also runs over the bridge was severely damaged. As aksyonov he later wrote that train services would resume in the morning.
➤ Read more: Kiev apparently claims responsibility for Crimean bridge attack
The governor spoke of an incident at the 145th pylon of the bridge. Law enforcement authorities and all responsible departments are in action. Measures would be taken to restore the situation. Ferry traffic in the Kerch Strait has also been suspended.
Aksyonov urged residents to remain calm. Residents of the region and tourists must choose an alternative land route through the Russian-occupied regions of southern Ukraine for security reasons. The two deaths were reported by Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. The victims came from the Russian region.
In the past, Ukraine has repeatedly threatened attacks on the 19-kilometer Kerch Bridge, which is an important supply and supply route for Russian troops in Crimea. In October 2022, the bridge was badly damaged by an explosion, but was later repaired.
At the end of May, the Ukrainian secret service for the first time admitted involvement in the explosion.
Kiev has announced that it wants to recapture Crimea. According to media reports from Russia, despite the tense security situation and lengthy controls, Russian tourists are once again being drawn in large numbers to the peninsula, where tourists can only reach by train or car.
Putin: Counteroffensive was unsuccessful
the russian president Vladimir Putin started in june Ukrainian counter-offensive declared unsuccessful. All “enemy attempts” to break through Russian defenses were unsuccessful “during the period of the offensive”, Putin said in an interview with Rossiya-1 TV, broadcast on Sunday. “The enemy was unsuccessful,” Putin added.
The situation at the front is “positive” for the Russian armed forces. Russian troops behaved “heroically”, Putin said. “Unexpectedly for the opponent” “they even went on the attack in some sectors and conquered more advantageous positions”.
Ukraine recognizes Russian successes
Putin’s statements were also indirectly confirmed by the Ukrainian side. So reported the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Malyar on the open Sunday of Russian hits.
“Two days in a row the enemy in the sector kupyansk in the region Kharkiv actively attacked. We’re on the defensive,” she explained. “Fierce fighting is taking place and positions…change several times a day.” bachmut.
Putin: will use cluster bombs if necessary
Putin said in the interview that his country would also use cluster bombs if necessary. “Of course, if they are used against us, we have the right to react accordingly.” Human rights advocates have accused the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces of having used cluster bombs in warfare in the past.
On the other hand, Putin claims that Russia has not yet used them, although for a while there was “a known shortage of ammunition” on the Russian side as well.
The Russian president accused the United States of supplying the controversial cluster munitions because the West was no longer able to provide Ukraine with sufficient conventional means. “They didn’t find anything better than proposing the use of cluster munitions,” Putin said. This statement was also confirmed by a representative of the other party.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN on Sunday that the cluster munition delivery was intended to close a “gap” in Ukraine’s support.
grain deal expires
Almost a year after it came into force, the agreement on the transport of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea expires on Monday. The grain deal, which was carefully negotiated with the help of Turkey and the United Nations, expires at 11 pm CEST if no agreement is reached.
Russian President Putin had recently lifted the suspension of the agreement, which is also important for fighting world hunger, until Moscow’s demands are met. The agreement is effective from July 22, 2022.
For about a year, Russia has been demanding Western sanctions be eased so it can export unlimited amounts of its own grain and fertilizer. If the agreement ends, Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea will be blocked, as happened after the outbreak of war in February last year, from which freighters carrying corn and wheat, for example, could no longer leave.
“We extend the moment when the promises made to us are fulfilled,” Putin said last week. Russia is ready to wait as long as necessary. The procedure that has been in place for about a year, which would first be extended and then the promises would be fulfilled, no longer suits Moscow. The West had a year to implement the conditions, the Kremlin chief said.
Thanks to the agreement, Ukraine – one of the largest exporters of grain in the pre-war world – managed to ship 33 million tons in the last twelve months. On Sunday, one of the last ships may have left the port of Odessa, the freighter “TQ Samsun”.
According to the UN, it is loaded with more than 15,000 tons of rapeseed.
During a phone call over the weekend, Putin also pointed out to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that there was no basis for extending the deal. During the talks initiated by Ramaphosa, Putin also said that the main objective of the agreement, supplying needy countries on the African continent, for example, was not achieved, informed the Kremlin.
In particular, Moscow complains that punitive measures against Russia’s state agricultural bank mean that exports of its own grains and fertilizers cannot be processed at the desired scale. There are also problems with shipping insurance.
The blockade on grain exports was only ended by the agreement of 22 July 2022. The agreement ended a month-long Russian naval blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
The United Nations urged all parties to extend the agreement to ensure global food security.