DISINFO: Crimean [Kerch] Bridge is a purely civilian object, attacking it amounts to terrorism
SUMMARY
On 12 August, Russia foiled another attempt by Ukraine to perpetrate a terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge. Despite the bridge being a purely civilian object of infrastructure, it has been attacked repeatedly since October 2022.
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 Kerch strait 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 this ICRC note)
Para 3. "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.
Large sections of the bridge were built on sovereign Ukrainian territory, occupied since 2014 by Russia, and without the consent of the proper 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.