The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as a "terrorist attack" by Ukraine on the Crimean bridge today, stating that it endangered the lives of innocent civilians and vowed to respond. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Telegram: "There can be no justification for such barbaric acts, and they will not go unanswered." Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that its forces had thwarted a missile attack by Ukraine on the 19-kilometer-long bridge connecting Crimea to Russia via the Kerch Strait. Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. The ministry added that Russian forces also shot down several Ukrainian drones targeting the peninsula.
Earlier, the Russian-appointed governor of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, stated that "two missiles were shot down by air defense systems near the bridge, which has been subjected to frequent attacks by Ukraine since last year."
**Donetsk Targeting**
The Russian-appointed governor of the Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, reported today that a civilian was killed and six people, including a 12-year-old girl, were injured due to heavy Ukrainian shelling in the eastern Ukraine area. Pushilin wrote on his Telegram channel: "The enemy fired a total of 127 rounds of ammunition at peaceful cities and areas in the republic," referring to the Donetsk People's Republic, the name Moscow uses for the region it announced annexing last year. He added that the Ukrainian bombardment included the use of cluster munitions. Both sides have used cluster munitions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began 17 months ago. Kyiv received cluster munitions from the United States last month, pledging to use them only to target enemy troop concentrations.
