Ukrainian Air Force comments on Crimean bridge explosions

He made the statement on the United News telethon.

"In this case, we do not know what is going on. Perhaps they (Russians - ed.) are conducting some kind of training. I can't say what's going on there yet. Perhaps satellite images will tell us more about the destruction there. There is a reason why they are blocking the traffic," Ihnat said.

According to the spokesman, smoke has been used as camouflage since the Second World War.

Ihnat also explained whether smoke can hide a missile.

"There are different missiles. Or, for example, the Lancet “kamikaze” drone: an operator guides it by a signal, and a camera shows the picture. There are missiles like that, but missiles also have radar guidance. Therefore, it is not clear what exactly is happening there, why there is smoke," he added. 

In addition, the Air Force spokesman noted that such incidents in the temporarily occupied Crimea are likely to continue to occur, and perhaps become more frequent.

"We speak about these things with restraint. What is happening will continue to happen - unmanned aerial vehicles and strike drones productions are developing. We see that it is bringing results. We will increase the production of our own UAVs, namely attack drones," he emphasized.

Explosions near the Crimean bridge: details

On the afternoon of Saturday, August 12, 2023, the head of the Russian occupation administration of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, announced attempts by the Ukrainian Defense Forces to launch missile strikes on the Crimean bridge. According to him, two Ukrainian missiles were shot down by Russian air defense forces near the Kerch Strait.

Aksyonov said that the Crimean bridge was allegedly not damaged, and there was no information about the victims.

In turn, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that there were not two missiles, but one. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, it was an "S-200 anti-aircraft guided missile converted into a strike version."

Prior to that, local media channels posted photos with four places of smoke both on the bridge itself and near it. They show two clusters of black smoke and two of white.

Oleg Kryuchkov, Aksyonov's information policy "adviser," explained the reason behind white smoke as a disguise. He said that special services put up a smoke screen.

Starting from 12:36 pm, Russian forces blocked the traffic on the Crimean bridge. Russian Coast Guard boats were sent there.

Around 3 pm, eyewitnesses began to report on social media about the smoke screen on the Crimean Bridge again, and a Krym.Realii correspondent counted at least 5 explosions.

Shortly afterward, Aksyonov and the Russian Defense Ministry announced for the second time that a Ukrainian missile attack had been repelled. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, it was again an S-200.