Two killed in Crimea Bridge blast, Black Sea grain deal in peril
It is day 509 of the war in Ukraine. An explosion on the Crimea Bridge connecting Russia’s mainland to the annexed Crimean peninsula killed a married couple and injured their underage daughter.
The Black Sea grain deal is set to expire on 17 July. None of the parties involved has announced an extension yet.
Denmark’s Carlsberg Group claims it was not notified of the seizure of its Russian subsidiary.
Read the top headlines of the early hours of Monday in Novaya-Europe’s roundup.
Photo: aftermath of the explosion on the Crimea Bridge/RT
Several explosions rocked the Crimea Bridge overnight, as Russian online news outlets were the first to report. The Russia-installed Crimean governor Sergey Aksyonov wrote early Monday morning that “there had been an emergency” around the bridge’s 145th pillar.
Governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, reported the death of a man and woman who were driving across the bridge when the attack occurred. Their underage daughter suffered moderate injuries and was taken to hospital.
Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee stated that it has opened a criminal case, calling the explosion a terrorist attack and adding that it was “carried out at 3.05 am by two Ukrainian unmanned surface vehicles”.
A spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern military command, Natalia Humeniuk, told the media that the incident could be an act of provocation on Moscow’s side.
News agency RBC Ukraine reported citing sources in Ukraine’s security service SBU that the attack was a joint operation of the SBU and the Ukrainian navy.
None of the parties to the grain deal has announced its extension.
The deal to export grain from Ukrainian ports across the Black Sea was signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the UN in July 2022.
“There is still no information on the extension of the grain deal. The UN believes that 17 July is the last day of the agreements,” a source in the UN told TASS news agency.
Another source confirmed that the deal has not yet been extended. They do not rule out, however, that the extension may come at the very last moment.
The last ship carrying grain supplies left the port of Odesa on 16 July. No new ships have entered the Black Sea since 27 June.
The Danish Carlsberg Group claims that Russian authorities have failed to give advance notice that Baltika Breweries, Carlsberg’s subsidiary, will be transferred to the temporary management of Rosimushchestvo, Russia’s state property management agency.
“The Carlsberg Group has not received any official information from the Russian Authorities regarding the presidential decree or the consequences for Baltika Breweries. The Carlsberg Group has been operating in accordance with local rules and regulations in Russia and finds this development unexpected,” the company’s statement reads.
Yesterday, Vladimir Putin signed a decree transferring foreign-owned shares in Baltika Breweries to the temporary management of Rosimushchestvo.
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