[1/2]A view by a prepare window reveals the part of a street cut up and sloping to 1 facet following an alleged attack on the Crimea Bridge, that connects the Russian mainland with the Crimean peninsula throughout the Kerch Strait, in this nonetheless picture from video taken July 17, 2023….
Aug 5 (Reuters) – Residents of Russian-occupied Crimea reported an explosion close to the bridge linking the peninsula to the Russian mainland early on Saturday, however a Russia-installed official in the area denied the bridge had come underneath attack.
Other pro-Russian officials in occupied areas of Ukraine stated the explosions had been linked to an attack by Ukrainian drones. Some studies stated a tanker crusing underneath a Russian flag sustained injury.
Ukraine made no assertion on these studies.
Traffic was halted on the bridge in the early morning, the third such cease in the previous 24 hours.
“Once again, there was no direct attack on the Crimea bridge and there was no explosion in the immediate vicinity,” Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the Russia-installed governor of Crimea was quoted as saying by Russian information companies.
Ukraine’s UNIAN information company stated three explosions had been reported in the realm.
Both Ukrainian information studies and pro-Russian officials in occupied elements of Ukraine stated Ukrainian drones had attacked a tanker vessel in the Kerch Strait working underneath a Russian flag and recognized because the SIG.
Some studies stated the tanker was carrying motor oil to Syria.
One Russian-appointed official in the southeastern area of Zaporizhzhia, Vladimir Rogov, posted an audio clip in which the vessel had requested a tow from tugboats. He stated there have been no accidents in the incident, which occurred 32 nautical miles from the Kerch Strait.
The bridge, accomplished by Russia in 2018, 4 years after Moscow annexed the peninsula from Ukraine, has been subjected to 2 main assaults in the 17-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the latest one occurring final month.
Ukraine has claimed duty for the assaults solely not directly.
Reporting by Ron Popeski and Nick Starkov; modifying by Grant McCool
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