Symbol of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and an important supply route for Moscow’s troops in southern Ukraine, the Kerch Bridge was partially destroyed by an explosion yesterday. Ukrainians congratulated themselves, but claimed no responsibility – despite the fact that “everything illegal must be destroyed”. The Russians did not point the finger at Kiev, but believed that the reaction that came from the Ukrainian capital is “evidence of the terrorist nature” of the “regime”. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the intelligence services (FSB) to strengthen the security of the bridge.
“In order to increase the effectiveness of measures to protect the transport corridor of the Kerch Strait,” Putin signed a decree, in addition to the electricity grid and gas pipeline running through Krasnodar, “to give the FSB the power to organize and implement measures coordinate to protect ” these infrastructures. This at a time when the military leadership is under criticism. The president also ordered an investigation into the explosion that killed three people, and the bodies of a man and a woman, who were traveling in a car on the bridge, were recovered from the water.
The explosion at 6:07 a.m. in Moscow (04:07 in Lisbon) and, according to the National Anti-Terrorism Commission, “was caused in a lorry on the road section of the bridge”, which in turn “ignited seven fuel tanks from a train heading from the Crimean Peninsula”. As a result, “two sections of the highway have partially collapsed”.
By the end of the day, both road (one-way) and rail traffic had resumed on the 19km bridge, the longest in Europe, which Putin opened in 2018. As an alternative to the bridge, which has been used to transport troops and equipment for the war, there are ferries and it is possible to connect overland through the occupied territories – and annexed after the fake referendums.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the explosion late in the day. In a Facebook video, he said the day was warm and sunny in most of Ukraine, but “unfortunately it was cloudy in Crimea. Although it was also warm.”
Hours earlier, his advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak, had written on Twitter: “The Crimea, the bridge, the beginning. Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine.” In another post later, he said it was “clear” in light of an alleged power struggle between the Russian secret services and the Ministry of Defense who was responsible. “The truck came from the Russian Federation,” he said.
On the same social network, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry asks: “The cruiser Moskva and the Kerch Bridge – two infamous symbols of Russian power in Russia’s Crimea – have fallen. Now what?Several officials also shared memes claiming that Friday’s explosion was Putin’s 70th birthday present. Whether you take responsibility for the explosion or not, Kiev will reap the rewards of this victory. from Moscow.
In the past, Russia has threatened reprisals in the event of an attack on the bridge, and has also made it clear that “any attack on Crimea would trigger massive reprisals” from Moscow. However, the explosions at a military base in the 2014 annexed peninsula in late August went unanswered.
This time, there are more voices demanding such retaliation, at a time when Putin has already threatened to resort to nuclear weapons. In Crimea, authorities pointed the finger at “Ukrainian vandals”, but also tried to detract from the explosion and reiterated that supplies are guaranteed (yesterday there was a rush to gas stations).
The attack on the bridge is another setback for Putin after weeks in which his forces have lost ground, including in illegally annexed areas. In its daily report on the situation in Ukraine yesterday, British defense intelligence agencies pointed to the growing wave of criticism of the leadership of the Russian Defense Ministry. “Criticism continues to be directed at the military high command rather than senior political leadership, but represents a tendency to publicly voice dissent against the Russian establishment, which is at least partially tolerated and likely to be difficult to reverse.” , the report said. diary.
In answer, Putin appointed Sergey Surovikin as “commander of the Joint Grouping of Forces in the field of special military operations”. The 55-year-old general is a veteran of the civil war in Tajikistan in the 1990s, the second war in Chechnya at the turn of the millennium and the Russian intervention in Syria launched in 2015.
Source: DN
