Ukrainian missiles shot down over Crimea bridge: Russian official

Russian officials have said that multiple missiles were shot down over the bridge connecting Crimea to the mainland on Saturday, CNN reported. The Russia-appointed Head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov in a post on Telegram wrote that two Ukrainian missiles were shot down on Saturday afternoon, according to CNN. Aksyonov further said that the bridge was undamaged.
In an update issued later on Saturday, Aksyonov said that another Ukrainian missile had been shot down in the area. Photos and videos circulating on social media platforms showed white smoke. In a post on Telegram, Aksyonov wrote, “Another enemy missile was shot down over the Kerch Strait. Thank you to our air defence troops for their high professionalism and vigilance!,” CNN reported.
Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the Russian-appointed Head of Crimea, said special services have put a “smoke screen,” which he said is used to conceal any damage caused.
Earlier, the Russian defence ministry on Saturday said that its forces had destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones launched at the peninsula overnight, according to CNN.
Following the attempted strikes, the Russian foreign ministry criticised Ukraine for carrying out what it described as a “terrorist attack” and termed the attacks “unacceptable.”
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, “The Crimean bridge is an object of purely civilian infrastructure, attacks on which are unacceptable. It has been subjected to such attacks since the autumn of last year, which also led to the death of civilians.” She further said, “Such barbaric actions cannot be justified and will not go unanswered.”
Meanwhile, traffic has resumed on the Crimean Bridge after it was temporarily blocked, CNN reported citing the Crimean Bridge operative information Telegram account. Crimean bridge, also known as the Kerch bridge, holds personal value for Russian President Vladimir Putin. It marks the “reunification” of Crimea with the Russian mainland.