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Ukraine MP’s appeal to destroy bridge to Crimea aimed to stir up enmity — Russian senator

Earlier, Ukraine’s legislator Igor Mosiichuk appeared on 112 Ukraine television calling on Kiev to destroy the bridge

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/. Ukraine cannot do any damage to the newly inaugurated Kerch Strait Bridge connecting Crimea to mainland Russia, while an appeal by a Ukrainian parliamentarian to destroy is aimed at stirring up hatred in the society, senior Russian legislator Frants Klintsevich said on Tuesday.

Earlier, Ukraine’s legislator Igor Mosiichuk appeared on 112 Ukraine television calling on Kiev to destroy the bridge.

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"The Crimean bridge is protected by the might of the Russian Armed Forces, and Ukraine is simply incapable of doing any damage to it. I don’t think Igor Mosiichuk was unaware of this," said Klintsevich, a member of the Federation Council’s Defense and Security Committee.

"That’s not the point - the statement by a Verkhovna Rada (parliament) deputy has a specific aim. The aim is to stir up hysteria, hatred and enmity in the Ukrainian society. In actual fact, ideological preparations are underway for a big war in Donbass," the senator added.

He said the Kerch Strait Bridge is so hateful to Ukrainian nationalists also because the very fact of its construction ‘is in perfect contrast to the situation in neighboring countries - Russia creates, while Ukraine only destroys".

The Kerch Strait Bridge’s motorway section was inaugurated on May 15. Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in it, driving the lead vehicle of the construction equipment convoy. The construction of the bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with mainland Russia kicked off in February 2016. The construction of its railway section continues, its opening is scheduled for 2019. The bridge originates on the Taman Peninsula, runs through a five-kilometer dike area and the Island of Tuzla, then crosses the Kerch Strait and reaches the Crimean coast.

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