Crimea announces the closure of the Kerch bridge “due to an emergency” and Ukrainian media point to an explosion

July 17 () –

The governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, has announced this Monday that traffic has been stopped on the Kerch bridge, an infrastructure that connects the peninsula with mainland Russia, due to “an emergency”, without giving details about it.

“Given the current situation, I ask the residents and tourists of the peninsula to refrain from traveling over the Crimean bridge and, for security reasons, choose an alternative land route through the new regions,” said the adviser to the authorities of the Crimean peninsula, Oleg Kryuchkov, referring to the annexed Ukrainian territories.

The authorities have stressed that Crimea has basic products such as food and fuel. They have also indicated that they have opened a direct line with the coordination headquarters for those affected by the “emergency.”

The vehicles that were waiting to cross the bridge – about a thousand cars – have begun to turn around, as reported by the Russian news agency Interfax.

This bridge was the scene at the beginning of October of a strong explosion in the framework of the war with Ukraine that put the infrastructure out of service for several months, citing “repair and restoration work.”

That partial destruction of the Kerch bridge was one of the most symbolic blows against Russia since the start of its military offensive in February. The Russian authorities blamed Ukrainian intelligence from the outset for being behind the attack, and confirmed several arrests in the framework of an investigation for alleged terrorism.

Inaugurated by Putin in 2018, it is one of the most important infrastructure works on the peninsula since its annexation in 2014 and a symbolic and practical example of the connection of this territory to Russia. The structure, 19 kilometers long, includes a rail transport track and a highway.