The head of the Joint Coordination Press Centre of the Southern Defence Forces, Natalia Gumenyuk, did not rule out that the Russian occupiers could strike at Ukraine in response to the explosions on the Crimean bridge. She assessed the threat level as high.

Gumenyuk said this on the air of Apostrophe TV on Monday, 17 July. According to her, the Russian occupation army has deployed two missile carriers to the Black Sea.

"The invaders can attack Ukrainian cities from the Black Sea with 12 Kalibr missiles.

In total, there are 14 enemy ships in the area.

"As of now, there are 14 enemy ships in the Black Sea. Two missile carriers continue to be on duty, equipped with 12 Kalibr missiles. We assess this level of missile threat as high - the use of missiles is quite likely, especially since the missile carriers have been on duty for several days but have not been used," said Gumenyuk.

On the morning of 17 July, several explosions occurred on the Crimean Bridge, which caused the bridge to be closed to traffic. It turned out that part of the roadway had collapsed, creating a chasm.

According to OBOZREVATEL's sources, it was a special operation by the SBU and the Ukrainian Navy - the facility was attacked by surface drones.

Earlier, Gumenyuk said that the Russian occupiers were looking for new tactics for air attacks on Ukrainian cities to bypass our air defences. Recently, they have begun to adjust the routes of missiles and drones. The Russians want to simultaneously bypass air defences, save missiles and drones, and inflict maximum damage.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, the spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yuriy Ihnat, said that Ukraine has a huge front line, a large territory and few air defence systems. That is why the air defence system has to be built in such a way that the available assets are located as close to populated areas as possible, otherwise the enemy will certainly take advantage of the "gaps".

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