“Hostile Facility”
Zelenskyj: Crimean bridge must be destroyed
7/22/2023 7:57 am
The Crimean Bridge is important for supplying the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. However, ammunition also gets to the front this way. And every facility that brings war and not peace must be neutralized, says the Ukrainian president.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Crimean Bridge is a “hostile facility” that must be destroyed. The bridge, which connects the Russian mainland with the Russian-occupied Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, is “not just a logistical road,” Zelenskyy said via video link at a security conference in Aspen, Colorado.
Rather, it is the road used to supply ammunition to the Russian war of aggression every day. This leads to a militarization of Crimea. The bridge brings “war instead of peace” and is therefore a military target.
Russia, which has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine for around 17 months, had already annexed Crimea in violation of international law in 2014 and later connected it to its own mainland via the Crimea Bridge. According to Moscow, the 19-kilometer-long structure was attacked by Ukrainian drones early Monday morning, causing part of the roadway to sag. Kiev, which wants to liberate all occupied territories, has so far not confirmed any involvement in the attack.
The Kerch Strait Bridge is the main road and rail link between mainland Russia and the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula in Ukraine. Faced with increasing traffic jams due to the closed bridge, authorities suggested returning Russians should take a 400-kilometer route through Russian army-controlled areas of Ukraine. These are partly affected by battles.
After the attack on the strategically important Crimean bridge, Moscow canceled the international agreement on the export of grain from Ukraine. However, Zelenskyy doubts that the termination of the grain agreement by Russia is in retaliation for the damage to the Crimean bridge. Despite the agreement, Russia had repeatedly blocked the corridors and hindered grain transport. The shelling of the Crimean bridge was just another pretext for the end of the agreement, Zelenskyy said.