The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky declared yesterday Friday that the Crimean bridge is a legitimate military target, noting that it “brings war, not peace”.

Explosions on Europe’s longest bridge on Monday killed two people and shut down part of its road section. It had just returned to normal operation after a previous attack in October 2022.

Officially at least, Kiev did not claim responsibility.

Moscow blamed the Ukrainian armed forces and their Western backers.

Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014. Ukraine’s government says it is seeking to retake it amid a 17-month war since the Russian military invaded its territory in late February 2022.

Mr Zelensky, who spoke via video link during a security conference in Aspen (US), stressed that the rail and road bridge, which connects the Crimean peninsula with the Krasnodar region of southern Russia and was inaugurated in 2018, “is not just a supply route”.

“This is the road that feeds the war with ammunition and it happens on a daily basis. It is militarizing the Crimean peninsula.”

“For us, it is (…) hostile infrastructure, which was built outside the framework of international legislation and applicable norms. It’s a goal for us. And this goal, which brings war, not peace, must be neutralized.”

Mr. Zelensky, when asked about it, rejected any connection between the attack on the bridge and the termination of the agreement that allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain.

Moscow, he judged, was blocking the operation of the grain export corridor from the beginning and used the attack on the bridge as a pretext. “If it didn’t exist [σ.σ. η επίθεση στη γέφυρα της Κριμαίας] they would find some other reason.”

Referring to the long-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Ukrainian head of state reiterated that progress is being made at a slower pace than he would like. So far, some villages in the south and areas that had fallen into the hands of Russian forces in recent months have been recaptured.

“Ukraine is not retreating. It is gradually liberating its territories and that is very important. However, I believe that we are approaching the time when actions [σ.σ. του ουκρανικού στρατού] they will gain a faster pace. I understand that it is better to see that the victory will come sooner. That’s what we want too.”