Kiev attacks Russian oil depot, Crimea Bridge continues to be threatened, should Moscow worry?

Russian Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) attacked an oil depot in the town of Gubkin in Russia's Belgorod border region, causing a fire.

Ukraine has attacked the Kerch bridge twice before. (Source: AP)

On his Telegram page, Mr. Gladkov wrote: "Ukrainian forces attacked an oil depot in the town of Gubkin with a drone. An oil tank caught fire as a result of the explosion. The fire was quickly extinguished. There were no casualties."

Earlier, the official said three localities in his area had been attacked.

* Regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, on August 2, the Director of the General Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR), Mr. Kirill Budanov, continued to declare the possibility of destroying the Crimea bridge in the coming months.

On Ukrainian state television, Mr. Budanov said that “all work is underway,” including long-range strikes and the destruction of the Kerch Strait (or Crimean Bridge) that connects mainland Russia with the Crimean peninsula and is a key supply route for Russian troops in Ukraine.

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine (VSU) have a chance. But all this requires a comprehensive solution,” Budanov asserted.

Even when asked if the bridge could be demolished in the next few months, he replied: "There is a possibility."

Earlier, on the night of August 1 and early morning of August 2, large explosions occurred in Crimea. Warnings about missile and drone threats were issued across all regions of the peninsula.

Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev confirmed that Ukraine carried out a missile and drone attack on the Crimean peninsula. Russian air defense forces shot down four air targets in Sevastopol.

"Ukraine attacked Crimea with an ATACMS missile, part of the warhead of the downed missile penetrated the roof and got stuck on the technical floor of a 9-storey building on Ostrykov Street, Sevastopol," Razvozhaev wrote on Telegram the same morning.

Regarding the Ukrainian attacks in this region, the Russian State Duma (lower house) deputy representing the Crimea region, member of the Lower House Security Committee, Mikhail Sheremet, called the Crimea bridge bombing a crime without a statute of limitations.

However, even if the Crimean bridge is attacked, Russia still has a land route running from its territory through the Mariupol and Berdiansk regions that Moscow controls to reach Crimea. Russia has built a railway system along this route.

Despite this, the Crimean Bridge has symbolic significance, so Kiev still seems to want to target this structure.

The Kerch Bridge connects Russia's Krasnodar region with the peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. During the more than two-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the bridge has become a vital supply route for Moscow's forces on the southern front.

Ukraine has previously attacked the Kerch Bridge twice. On July 17, 2023, the VSU attacked the Crimean Bridge with two unmanned boats. On October 8, 2022, a truck exploded on the Crimean Bridge, causing a fire in a fuel tank carrying a train and collapsing two spans of the road bridge.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/xung-dot-nga-ukraine-kiev-tan-cong-kho-dau-nga-cau-crimea-tiep-tuc-bi-de-doa-moscow-co-can-lo-lang-281191.html