The hostile craft was “promptly detected and destroyed” in the Black Sea
An attempted attack by a Ukrainian maritime drone on the strategic bridge which links the peninsula to the Russian mainland was foiled on Friday evening, the Russian Defense Ministry has claimed.
“On September 1, at about 11:15pm Moscow time, the Kiev regime attempted to launch a terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge using a semi-submersible unmanned boat,” the ministry said in a brief statement, adding that the hostile craft was “promptly detected and destroyed” in the Black Sea.
All traffic on the Crimean Bridge was briefly stopped on Friday evening.
The Crimean Peninsula, which is home to a key Russian naval base, has been a frequent target of Ukrainian drone and missile attacks. With its fleet reduced to a handful of patrol boats, Kiev has also resorted to attacks on Russian infrastructure and ships by remotely operated vessels.
In mid-July, a drone damaged a span of the Crimean Bridge, killing two civilians and injuring their 14-year-old daughter. In August, Kiev officially admitted to the attack and even provided CNN with never-before-seen footage showing a first-person view from the drone.
The Security Service of Ukraine also claimed responsibility for the truck bomb attack on the Crimean Bridge in October of last year, which killed three civilians and significantly damaged the structure.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the attacks on the Crimean Bridge as “brutal” and pointless from a military perspective, explaining that it is no longer used to transport combat equipment. Nevertheless, Ukraine’s defense chief, Aleksey Reznikov, has vowed to continue attacking the bridge and other targets on the peninsula.
