Steph Deschamps / October 14, 2022
Russia announced Friday to order the repair before July 1, 2023 of the Crimean bridge, partially destroyed in an explosion last Saturday that Moscow blames on Kiev.
The government "determines the deadline for the end of state contracts for the execution of the work to be July 1, 2023," according to an order signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
The Crimean bridge, a symbol of the annexation of the eponymous Ukrainian peninsula and crucial for the supply of Russian troops engaged in Ukraine, was partially destroyed by a truck bomb attack, according to Moscow.
The Russian security services (FSB) claimed that this "terrorist attack" was organized by Ukrainian military intelligence, assuring that an agent of Kiev had coordinated the transit of explosives through several countries and had been in contact with various intermediaries.
In response, Russia conducted Monday and Tuesday massive bombings across Ukraine, targeting in particular civilian energy infrastructure that caused numerous power and water cuts.
On Wednesday, the FSB said it had arrested eight people - five Russians and "three Ukrainian and Armenian citizens" - suspected of involvement in the attack. However, road and rail traffic has partially resumed for several days on the bridge.