MOSCOW (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Part of the Kerch Bridge, a divisive representation of the Russian government’s control of the southern Ukrainian peninsula, a crucial logistical chain for the Russian military and one of Vladimir Putin’s prestige projects, was destroyed by a massive explosion.
After the explosion, a portion of the road bridge leading to Ukraine crumbled into the Kerch Strait, and a train on the nearby railway link caught fire fiercely, erupting into a huge column of black smoke. Images taken near the explosion scene showed that the parallel road leading to Russia was still passable.
The strike, which occurred the day after Putin turned 70, dealt a severe blow to the reputation of the Russian military and its supply lines for the invasion and Crimea’s defence.
Moscow claimed the bridge was guarded by many, impenetrable layers of defences, including cutting-edge weapons systems and military dolphins. However, Moscow also vowed a harsh reaction if it were attacked.
Although senior officials openly cheered the attack on the bridge, Ukraine has claimed no direct responsibility for it. As of Saturday morning, the only serious question regarding the attack was how it was carried out rather than who ordered it.
The explosion happened at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning while a train was passing the bridge; witnesses said they could hear it from kilometres away. Soon after, images of the destruction started to surface.
Within hours of forming a commission to investigate the attack, Russia announced three deaths and said the explosion was caused by a truck bomb. They also stated that the driver of the truck that exploded lived in southern Russia’s Kuban region.
Preliminary data indicated that the incident resulted in the deaths of three people. Those were, most likely, the passengers of a car that was near to the destroyed truck, Russia’s investigating committee said in a statement.
Bodies of two dead men and women have been recovered from the water, and their identities are currently being confirmed, they said.
Uncertainty existed around whether either of the two vehicles, a truck and a car— shown in a footage shared by news agencies and Russia Telegram groups—were responsible for the explosion or were merely caught up in it.
On Putin’s orders, the bridge was built and opened in 2018. It was a vital transportation route for ferrying troops and delivering military supplies to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, particularly in the south.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser for Ukraine, appeared to imply Kyiv’s accountability in a tweet that read: “Crimea, the bridge, the beginning. Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything belonging to the Russian occupation must be expelled.”
Oleskiy Danilov, the head of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, posted a video on Twitter showing the damaged bridge and Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” as a thinly veiled jab at Putin.
The explosion of the bridge came amidst growing criticism in Russia of the war he was waging against Ukraine following disastrous failures on the battlefield in recent weeks.
In the moments following the explosion, stories of citizens in Crimea flocking to petrol stations out of concern for fuel shortages surfaced.
Some have speculated that the attack on the bridge may have been a spectacular act of sabotage because damage to the bridge’s road portion showed one carriageway looking to have been cleanly split without any clear signs of a missile hit. There appeared to be a second carriageway that was still standing and usable.
Due to the railway line damage, the only train supply route for Russian forces in the south is now vulnerable to artillery fire from Ukraine, running between Krasnodar and Melitopol.
Shipping would not be impacted, a Moscow-appointed official in Crimea said. A cistern carriage was burning with fuel on one of the bridge sections. No changes were made to shipping arches. It was too early to discuss causes and effects. The fire was being put out by workers.
Video recorded from the road crossing appeared to show many railway trucks down the length of the train with fires blazing intensely while the train was stopped on the bridge.
