DISINFO: Ukrainian strike on Crimean Bridge was a terrorist act against a civilian structure
SUMMARY
The 17 July attack by Ukraine on the Crimean Bridge was a terrorist act and a crime. The bridge is used strictly as a civilian object.
RESPONSE
The material and links may contain distressing/ graphic content.
The claim advances a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative regarding Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.
Throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Crimean Bridge has been a vital military supply route between Russian territory and occupied Crimea. Under the Geneva Conventions, this allows for counting the bridge among those facilities which “make an effective contribution to military action and whose total or partial destruction [...], in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage [para. 2]”; in turn this, disqualifies it as a protected civilian object.
Some aspects are important concerning the definition of a civil or military object: (see the ICRC note)
"In case of doubt whether an object which is normally dedicated to civilian purposes, such as a place of worship, a house or other dwelling or a school, is being used to make an effective contribution to military action, it shall be presumed not to be so used." Thus, objects may change status from civil to military if they "make an effective contribution to military action". This is the case of the Crimea bridge as the main Russian military supply route.
Major parts of the bridge has been built on Ukrainian territory, occupied since 2014 by Russia, and without the consent of the right Ukrainian authorities.
See here for our debunk of a similar claim made after the October 2022 attack on the bridge. See here for additional debunking by POLYGRAPH.info.