A Ukrainian MP Oleskiy Goncharenko stated that he discussed the “destruction” of the Kerch Strait bridge connecting Crimea to Russia with British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace in June, according to a report in RT. Goncharenko was responding to a claim on Russian television that Wallace was personally in charge of developing a plan to strike the strategically important bridge over the Kerch Strait, connecting Crimea to the mainland. Crimean citizens voted in 2014 to reunite with Russia, after the neo-Nazi coup in Ukraine.
The remark, which Goncharenko made on social media last week, included a photo of himself with Wallace and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a NATO gathering.
The allegation arose during a TV appearance by Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, who said that, “according to some information,” the British defense minister was in charge of developing plans to attack the bridge. The bridge was built by Russia to ensure that there were railway and road links with the region.
The Ukrainian government earlier dismissed calls for it to be destroyed, but Kiev now seems to consider the bridge to be a primary military target that should be attacked as soon as Kiev receives Western weapons capable of striking it. The U.K. is a major supplier of advanced heavy weapons to Kiev, most notably the M270 multiple rocket launchers.
