The Russian government has directed that repairs to a key bridge connecting annexed Crimea to Russia be completed by July 2023. A blast last Saturday damaged the bridge, according to officials, killing at least three people.
Russia blamed Ukraine for the attack, but Kiev has not admitted responsibility.
The 19km (12-mile) bridge, Europe’s longest, is a vital supply route for Russian forces in Ukraine, but it is inaccessible to heavy goods vehicles.
The explosion caused midway sections of one of the bridge’s two carriageways to collapse into the sea, as well as damage to the railway line. Currently, Lorries are forced to queue for a ferry, which is expected to take several days.
However, the bridge has been reopened for rail and light road traffic.
Ukrainian officials have asked the Red Cross to visit the notorious Olenivka prison in the country’s Russian-occupied east within three days.
The Russian service claims to have identified over 7,500 Russian service personnel killed in the Ukraine war, though the actual number of casualties is thought to be much higher.
Elon Musk has stated that his rocket company SpaceX will not be able to continue funding the Starlink internet service in Ukraine indefinitely, despite reports that he has asked the US Defense Department to do so.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has supported a Russian proposal to establish a gas hub in Turkey to supply Europe.
According to a UK intelligence report, Russian forces from the private military company Wagner Group have captured two villages in the Donetsk region, marking the private military company’s first successful advance in the region in three months.
A document on the Russian government’s website said it had appointed the company Nizhneangarsktransstroy to be the sole contractor, tasked with the “design and restoration of destroyed elements of the transport and engineering infrastructure of the Crimean Bridge”.
It sets “a deadline by which state contracts for the work are to be completed… of 1 July 2023”.
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