Dmytro Kuleba on Ukraine Bridge, grain, NATO and aid

Jul 17, 2023

CBS Mornings interviews Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on July 17, 2023. Asked whether Ukraine is behind the Crimean Bridge attack, he says he learned about it from the news because of the time difference and has no official information, then argues that damage limits supplies to Russian forces in occupied Crimea and southern Ukraine. He calls the Vilnius NATO summit's results good because Ukraine's path was shortened and the NATO-Ukraine Council introduced, but says membership timing remains unclear despite strong assurances, including from U.S. leaders. Accepting the risk of immediate wartime accession, he stresses that Ukraine sought an invitation with membership after the war; partners can supply weapons while Ukraine fights. After a host reports Russia's same-morning grain-deal suspension, he alleges Russia gradually undermined renewals, cites a 20-percent grain-price fall after the initiative's introduction the previous year and predicts higher prices and harm to vulnerable people in Asia and Africa. He says inland routes cannot fully replace the ports and accuses Russia of using hunger for blackmail and commercial gain. Asked about the war's progress, he says Ukraine is winning and advancing daily in the south and east but urges patience, citing more than 19,000 children deported or abducted and 494 killed as war-related problems. Those assessments and figures remain attributed. Asked about uncertain support under a possible Republican president, he thanks Americans, Congress and the administration, respects the election as an internal affair and expects Republicans to secure continued aid through bipartisan support. The host expresses skepticism at the close. The interview establishes neither Ukrainian responsibility for the bridge attack, a NATO accession date, restored grain exports nor a future U.S. funding decision.

Two early-morning explosions damaged the Kerch Bridge and disrupted traffic on July 17, 2023. TSN describes one road span destroyed and another displaced; occupation authorities report two deaths and accuse Ukrainian security services. Ukraine's SBU defers details until after victory, while TSN carries Operational Command South's suggestion of a possible Russian provocation. Attribution and mechanism remain disputed. TSN's later satire illustrates online reactions to the same damage and travel disruption. In the same-morning CBS interview (show 520), Dmytro Kuleba says he learned of the attack from the news and has no official information on responsibility. He argues that bridge damage reduces supplies to Russian forces in occupied Crimea and southern Ukraine. His qualified reaction confirms neither Ukrainian responsibility nor an attack method or casualty figure. At the July 17 evening Kremlin conference, Putin reports civilian deaths and a girl injured and left without parents. Khusnullin's on-site inspection account describes one irreparable road span toward Taman and another toward Kerch displaced 70–80 centimetres but still on its support; initial diver checks reportedly found no support damage, while minor railway damage did not prevent resumed service. Road traffic was then still suspended. Putin accuses Kyiv and calls the incident terrorism, while claiming that the bridge had long ceased carrying military traffic. That claim differs from TSN's and Kuleba's military-supply accounts. These are attributed official statements, not a resolution of the conflicting military-use, responsibility or mechanism claims. Vremya's same-day on-scene Kerch report additionally relays NAC representative Alexander Polyakov's claim that two Ukrainian unmanned surface craft carried out the attack and that a terrorism case was opened. Local residents describe two loud explosions about twenty minutes apart, one estimating roughly 03:01 and 03:19 or 03:20. The report describes road restrictions, ferry alternatives, resumed rail traffic and visitor assistance. Its official responsibility claim remains attributed alongside the other accounts. The separate Investigative Committee and NAC scene recordings show damaged roadway, evidence collection, emergency crews and a passing train; these visuals establish neither perpetrators or weapons nor a casualty count or system-wide railway restoration.