An explosion occurred on the Crimean Bridge in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Russia’s RIA Agency announced that an explosion occurred on the Kerch Bridge in Crimea early on Saturday.
The RIA stated that a fuel tank exploded and burned, according to preliminary information. After the incident, Russia announced that traffic on the bridge was stopped.
Kremlin Spokesperson Peskov also announced that Russian President Putin was informed about the situation.
FIRST EXPLANATION FROM UKRAINE
The first statement came from Ukraine about the explosion from the Kerch Bridge.
“Crimea, the bridge, it’s just the beginning. Everything illegal should be destroyed, everything stolen should be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia should be deported,” said Podolyak, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, on Twitter.
KERCH BRIDGE
Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the Kerch Bridge in the Kerch Strait on May 15, 2018, after the annexation.
Putin went to the opening ceremony in his truck.
Annexation of the Crimea
With the growth of protests that started in Kiev at the end of 2013 after President Viktor Yanukovych postponed signing the Association Agreement with the European Union (EU), the society in the country was divided into two as pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian.
The visit of the then President of the Crimean Parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, to Moscow on February 20, 2014, helped the pro-Russian movement gain strength in Crimean society. During the visit, Konstantinov came up with the idea of taking Crimea from Ukraine if Yanukovych leaves office. As the protests escalated, Yanukovych fled the country on 22 February.
The coming to power of the new pro-Western interim administration made the pro-Russians more active in the Crimean Peninsula. Military units leaving the Russian base stationed on the peninsula began to become active in different cities.
Despite the violation of the agreements between Ukraine and Russia on the location of the Russian Black Sea Fleet on 28 May 1997 and 21 April 2010, Russian troops moved on the peninsula and relocated. One of the reasons that increased the tension in the Crimea was that the President of the Russian Unity Party Sergey Aksenov set up a paramilitary regiment of approximately 3,500 people under the name of “People’s Militia Forces”, in violation of Ukraine’s laws.
Moscow accelerated the operation by sending a delegation of deputies to the Peninsula under the chairmanship of Russian deputy Leonid Slutskiy. The delegation met with the President of the Russian Unity Party Sergey Aksenov and the member of the Crimean Parliament Sergey Tsekov. Tsekov, in his statement, stated that they will make a quick decision regarding the annexation of Crimea to Russia.
Raid the Crimean PARLIAMENT
On February 25, 2014, pro-Russian supporters began to put pressure on the parliament for the annexation of Crimea to Russia. Around 400 pro-Russians stormed the Crimean Parliament, demanding that the parliament take a referendum decision for the independence of Crimea.
Speaker of the Parliament Konstantinov announced that they will discuss the referendum in the General Assembly on February 26. On February 26, 2014, large rallies were held in front of the Crimean Parliament, where the Crimean Tatar Milli Majlis (KTMM) and the Russian Unity Party faced each other.
Two people died in the brawl that broke out during the rallies. Discussion of the referendum that will cause the separation of Crimea from Ukraine in the parliament was postponed due to these events.
REFERENDUM IN THE SHADOW OF THE ‘GREEN MEN’
However, from that night on, pro-Russian armed forces appeared, in military attire, with no emblems or signs on them. These military groups, called “green men”, took over the Crimean Parliament and government buildings. The Parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which convened on March 6 under the shadow of pro-Russian armed “green men”, announced that it was decided to hold a referendum on the annexation of Crimea to Russia.
In the so-called referendum held on March 16 under the control of the green men, it was decided to connect Crimea to Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin completed the illegal annexation of the Peninsula by signing the law that foresees “the connection of Crimea and Sevastopol to Russia and the creation of new federal regions” at a ceremony held at the Kremlin Palace on March 21.
* Images of the news are provided by Reuters and Associated Press.