A Ukrainian missile strike was thwarted on Saturday over the Crimean Bridge, a key civilian and military infrastructure linking Russia to this annexed peninsula, local authorities and the Russian army said.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the bridge was attacked with an S-200 anti-aircraft missile modified for ground attack.
“The Ukrainian missile was spotted in time and intercepted in mid-air by Russian air defense systems. There were no injuries or damage,” he added on Telegram.
Crimea’s leader Sergey Aksionov told him about two Ukrainian missiles shot down near the Kerch Strait, and not one. “The Crimean bridge was not damaged,” he said in the Telegram.
According to Mr. Aksionov’s adviser, Oleg Kryuchkov, a smoke screen was deployed by special forces as an additional means of defense and traffic on the bridge “will resume soon”.
The Crimean Bridge, which was built at great expense on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin after the peninsula was annexed in 2014, has repeatedly been the target of Ukrainian attacks.
The last attack in July caused extensive damage to the road section of the structure, which is also used to transport military equipment to the Russian army fighting in Ukraine.
The 18-kilometer concrete bridge, inaugurated by Vladimir Putin in 2018, consists of two parallel structures, one reserved for road traffic and the other for rail traffic.
After the last attack, the Russian President ordered that the security of the Crimean Bridge be strengthened.
The territory of Crimea itself is also regularly targeted by Ukrainian attacks. Russia has said it shot down 20 drones targeting the peninsula overnight.