Drone Attack On Crimea Ammunition Depot Prompts Evacuation And Bridge Closure

The region’s Moscow-installed governor said on Saturday that a drone attack on a Crimea ammunition depot caused officials to evacuate a 5 km (3-mile) radius and temporarily halt traffic on the bridge linking the peninsula to Russia.

Ukraine’s army said it had damaged an oil depot and the Russian army deported to the temporarily occupied district of Oktiabrske in central Crimea.

According to Russian-installed governor Sergei Aksyonov, the attack caused ammo storage to explode, although there was no recorded damage or casualties.

State media footage from the scene revealed a large cloud of grey smoke.

Later, Aksyonov stated that all rail traffic in the affected area, which had been temporarily disrupted, had resumed normal operation.

The Health Ministry stated that 12 persons required medical assistance and four were brought to the hospital.

In 2014, Russia grabbed and annexed Crimea from Ukraine, eight years before beginning a full-scale invasion of the country.

The brief pause in traffic on the Crimean Bridge, roughly 180 km (110 miles) east of the drone incident, came five days after blasts there killed two people and destroyed a portion of roadway – the bridge’s second significant strike since the war started.

The 19 km (12 miles) road and rail bridge is a crucial logistics route for the Russian military, as well as a popular summer destination for Russian tourists.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that the bridge was a legal target because it served as a military supply route for Russia.

“This is the route used to feed the war with ammunition and on a daily basis”, he explained.

Russia is on high alert for bridge catastrophes, and an official Telegram channel tells people not to panic if an alarm goes off.

Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to Aksyonov, cautioned people not to share images of critical infrastructure on the internet as another indicator of security worries in Crimea.

He asked anyone who knew the writers of such posts to report them to the interior ministry or the FSB security service.

“Remember that a video of military or other critical facilities posted on the web is working for the enemy”, he warned.

Also read: Russian Governor: Kyiv Bombed A Border Village With Cluster Bombs