Russian news outlets are reporting that Ukrainian forces are planning to strike Russia's Crimean Bridge on May 9, Russia's Victory Day.
"Information has appeared that on May 9 Ukraine plans to strike at the Crimean Bridge," Latvia armed forces representative Janis Slaydins told Kasparov.Ru, the internet newspaper of free Russia Thursday. "This possibility must be kept in mind, since after supplies from Western countries, Ukraine has such an opportunity to strike at this very strategically important bridge, through which supplies arrive from Russia for the southern direction of the armed forces."
The Russian News Agency TASS also reported Slaydins' prediction, including a statement attributed to the Secretary of Ukrainian National Defense and Security Council Alexey Danilov that said Ukraine would attack the bridge once it had the needed weaponry.
The strategically placed bridge connects the Russian mainland to Crimea and was constructed in the three years following Russia's annexation of the former Ukrainian region, according to a research paper published by the Naval Postgraduate School.
The span, first opened in 2018, is estimated to have cost Russia $3.7 billion to build and is the longest bridge in Europe.
In addition to carrying roadway and rail traffic, the bridge over the Kerch Strait gives Russia the ability to channel and block maritime traffic into the Sea of Azov, according to the paper.
According to the TASS report, the Russian Federal Security Service has already stopped a "terror attack" by Ukraine on the Crimean railway system that was carried out by the outlawed "Krym" Crimean Tatar battalion, which is classified as an "ISIS terror group."
Monday, May 9 is Victory Day in Russia celebrating the day in 1945 that the Nazis surrendered to Russian forces at the end of World War II.
According to the BBC, the holiday was occasionally marked during the Soviet Union era but has become an annual event since 2008 under Russian President Vladimir Putin which features a parade of military hardware and a show of Russian troop strength to the world.
"Even in a normal year it's a huge show of Russia strength, of Putin's control and everything he stands for," Ammon Cheskin of Glasgow University told the BBC Friday. "And that's just amplified this year."
While Putin had planned to announce his "victory" in Ukraine by the holiday, it is not clear how the Russian leader will frame the current situation to his people.
"This year the primary objective was to announce the victory that was supposed to happen in February," Ernest Wyciszkiewicz of the Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding told the BBC. "They are preparing a PR stunt for Monday: It's important for Russians to see that the special military operation they have been hearing about has led to something tangible."
According to the Kasparov.Ru story, Danilov said that while an attack on the bridge would bolster morale for Ukrainian troops, its forces are not yet able to launch such a strike.
"If we had such an opportunity, we would have done it," the new outlet reported Danilov saying. "So far, there is no such possibility."