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This explosion led to the evacuation of the population and the suspension of rail traffic a few days after the attack on the Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea with Russia.
Published on 07/22/2023 15:42
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An explosion in the Kirov district of Crimea on July 19, 2023. (VIKTOR KOROTAYEV / KOMMERSANT PHOTO / AFP)
This is a new attack that comes a few days after an attack on the Kerch Bridge, the only structure of its kind linking Crimea to Russia. Pro-Russian authorities stationed on this annexed peninsula on Saturday, July 22, accused Ukraine of using drones to blow up an ammunition depot. The explosion led to the evacuation of the population and the suspension of rail traffic in Crimea.
In early June, Kyiv launched a counteroffensive to retake territories lost to Moscow, notably claiming that it wanted to regain Crimea, which Russia unilaterally annexed to its territory in 2014. Volodymyr Zelenskyy judged on Friday via video conference at the Aspen Security Forum that the Kerch Bridge, which he believes was built in violation of international law and is used in particular to transport equipment to the Russian soldiers on the Ukrainian front, must be “neutralized”.
Population evacuated and rail traffic stopped
“As a result of an attack by enemy drones in the Krasnogvardeisky district, an explosion occurred at an ammunition depot. According to preliminary information, there was no damage or casualties. It was decided to evacuate the population within a five-kilometer radius of the site to temporary accommodation centers. In order to minimize the risks, it was also decided to stop traffic on the Crimean railway,” Sergei Aksionov, the Moscow-elected governor of Crimea, told Telegram on Saturday.
Sergey Askionov did not name the affected location and only mentioned the Krasnogvardeisky district, located inland in the middle of this Black Sea peninsula. Saturday’s attack also caused road traffic disruption on the Crimean Bridge, but it was restored very quickly, pro-Russian authorities said on Telegram. Authorities later clarified that two trains traveling from Moscow to Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, and another going in the opposite direction had been stopped.
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