'Bang day' in Kerch: Details on new explosions near Crimean Bridge
Crimean Bridge was allegedly attacked by missiles today (Photo: Russian media)
In the occupied Crimea today, there were two instances of "air defense activity" in the Kerch area, and the Crimean Bridge was covered in dense smoke. Russians claim that the bridge was attacked by missiles.
First explosions
Around the first hour of the day, reports of explosion sounds in the vicinity of Kerch began to appear on Crimean and Russian Telegram channels. Later, photos and videos emerged online showing that the Crimean Bridge was enveloped in thick white and black smoke.
As the occupiers claimed, the white smoke was for camouflage purposes. However, questions remain about the black smoke. Indeed, the Russians had previously used white smoke to camouflage the Crimean Bridge, but that was during military exercises.
Later, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that there had been a missile attack on the Crimean Bridge. However, as usual, the occupation ministry asserted that the attack had been repelled. Interestingly, according to the occupiers' claims, the bridge had supposedly been targeted with a S-200 surface-to-air missile.
Second round of explosions
Two hours after the first incident in Kerch, explosions were heard again, and local residents posted photos showing traces of anti-aircraft systems' activity. Similar to the initial explosions, movement on the Crimean Bridge was halted, and white smoke was released for camouflage purposes.
After the explosions, the Russian Ministry of Defense once again reported a new attempt to strike the Crimean Bridge with an S-200 missile. Similar to the first incident, the Russians claim that the attack was repelled and the missile was intercepted in flight.
What is known about the S-200
The S-200 is a long-range surface-to-air missile system developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. The initial versions of the system had a range of 160 km, but the range was later increased to 255 km.
Ukraine also possessed the S-200 system, but the last division was decommissioned on October 30, 2013. However, in July of this year, the Russians began claiming that Ukraine had allegedly launched missile strikes from this system. This came after explosions occurred in Taganrog and the Rostov region of Russia.
Photo: the S-200 Air Defense System (Wikipedia.com / George Chernilevsky)
Strikes on the Crimean Bridge
Following the illegal occupation of the peninsula in 2014, the Russians constructed the Crimean Bridge, connecting the occupied Crimea to Russian territory. The bridge is currently being used by the occupiers to deploy military equipment and personnel to the southern front.
The first explosions on the bridge occurred in October 2022 during a special operation by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU). This was later confirmed by the head of the SSU, Vasyl Maliuk.
This year, on July 17th, two spans of the Crimean Bridge were destroyed as a result of an attack by naval drones. The damage was significant enough that the restoration of the bridge is expected to continue at least until the end of the year.
Currently, repair work is underway on the Crimean Bridge, as confirmed by satellite imagery.
