[The Epoch Times, 6 dicembre 2022](Full report by Epoch Times reporter Li Yan) Russian PresidentPut inDriving a car on Monday (December 5)mercedes benzThe car went through a site that blew about two months agoCrimean bridge。
of great strategic importanceCrimean bridge(Crimea Bridge) is 19 kilometers (12 miles) long and is located on the strait between the Black and Azov Seas, also known as the “Kerch Strait Bridge” or “Kerch Bridge”. The bridge is the only transportation network that directly connects the Crimean peninsula to mainland Russia and is a symbol of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
In May 2018, the Russian presidentPut inHe personally presided over the opening of the bridge. On 8 October, the bridge was bombed and damaged. As the Russo-Ukrainian war continues, Russia claims the attack was initiated from Ukraine.
Footage on Russian state television showed Putin sitting in his carmercedes benzbehind the wheel of the car, asking where the attack took place. He was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.
“We drive on the right side,” Putin said as he crossed the bridge, “as far as I know, the left side of the bridge is functional, but it still needs to be finished. It’s ideal.”
Europe’s longest bridge is critical to maintaining Russia’s military operations in southern Ukraine. Dozens of Russian military convoys have used the bridge to transport vehicles, armor and fuel since Russia launched its February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Putin also walked along parts of Europe’s largest bridge to inspect sections that still showed signs of charring.
Ukraine has never acknowledged responsibility for the bridge bombing on the morning of October 8, the day after Putin’s 70th birthday. Russia’s FSB said the attack was staged by Ukraine’s military intelligence service.
The explosion destroyed part of the road bridge and traffic in the Kerch Strait was suspended. The blast also destroyed several tank trucks on a train bound for Crimea from neighboring southern Russia.
Crimea was transferred from Soviet Russia to Soviet Ukraine in 1954 by then Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia recognized Crimea’s independence in 1994. In 2014, amid political turmoil in Ukraine, Putin annexed Crimea in a referendum. But the referendum is not recognized by Ukraine and Western countries.
Ukraine has promised to retake Crimea and the peninsula depends on the bridge for supplies.
The bridge was built by the company of Putin’s ally Arkady Rotenberg. Putin has long been enthusiastic about the project and at one point boasted that the Russian tsar and Soviet leader had dreamed of building it but never built it.
Responsible editor: Li Huanyu#
