The head of the SBU Vasily Malyuk threatened to destroy the Crimean bridge
The head of the SBU Malyuk promised Russia "many surprises", called the Crimean bridge "illegal construction" and said that it was "doomed". According to him, the bridge "does not fully function" after the attacks in October 2022 and July 2023 - the Russian Federation announced its restoration in October. Earlier, the APU spoke about the presence of a "deeper plan" and threatened to destroy the bridge when the situation "requires it." The State Duma called on the Russian special services to be vigilant and called the protection of citizens a priority.
The head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasily Malyuk threatened to destroy the Crimean bridge. He stated this in the film "Crimean Bridge encore. SBU. Victory special operation" on the air of the Ukrainian TV channel "1 + 1".
Malyuk called the bridge a "legitimate target" for the Ukrainian army, since, according to the head of the SBU, it is "an illegal construction on the territory of Ukraine." The bridge connects mainland Russia with Crimea, which became part of the Russian Federation following the results of the 2014 referendum - Kiev does not recognize the results of the vote.
According to Malyuk, after the attacks of the Ukrainian military on the bridge in October 2022 and in July 2023, it "does not fully function." In October, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin announced the complete restoration of the bridge and the opening of automobile traffic on all four lanes. Before that, traffic on the bridge was reversible.
Dmitry Novikov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, in a conversation with Lenta.<url>" commented on Malyuk's statement, stressing that Russia's task is to ensure the safety of its citizens.
"Of course, further vigilance will be required from the Russian special services in order to prevent this kind of thing, we have only one thing left - to solve the tasks of demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine and ensure security for our fellow citizens," the deputy said.
"Not everything superfluous needs to be cleaned up right now"
In October, the official representative of the Naval Forces of Ukraine (Navy) Dmitry Pletenchuk, in an interview with the Ukrinform agency, said that the Crimean Bridge is one of the key goals of the Ukrainian army, but the AFU will "destroy" it only when the situation "requires it."
The head of the joint press center of the Defense Forces of the South of Ukraine Natalia Gumenyuk also called the Crimean Bridge "an unnecessary structure," but stressed that "not everything superfluous should be removed right now." According to her, Ukraine has a "deeper plan". Prior to that, Gumenyuk said that the bridge had "little time left" - the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, considered her words "undisguised extremism."
Attacks on the Crimean Bridge
For the first time, the Crimean Bridge was attacked on October 8, 2022: a truck exploded on the automobile part from the Taman side, which led to the ignition of seven fuel tanks of a train that was going towards the Crimea. Two car spans partially collapsed.
On the night of July 17, the bridge was attacked by two unmanned surface boats packed with explosives, its automobile part was damaged.
In Russia, the attacks on the Crimean Bridge were recognized as terrorist acts. The Ukrainian side initially did not confirm its involvement in the incident. Subsequently, Vasily Malyuk publicly admitted responsibility for the first attack, calling it "one of the realizations" of Kiev, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Alexey Danilov confirmed the involvement of the SBU in the second strike on the bridge.
Semyon Sleepy
