Pictured in flames, the morning after President Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday, the rail and road bridge from mainland Russia, to the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, has been set ablaze.
Also known as the Kerch or Kerch Strait Bridge, the Crimean Bridge, which stretches over more than eleven miles, and costing hundreds of billions of rubles, has long been considered a signature piece of infrastructure. It existed as the only physical link between Crimea and the Russian Federation, prior to the general invasion of Ukraine in February of this year.
Long considered a prime target for the Ukrainians, the cause of the damage to it is unknown presently, however this event is sure to be a source of great embarrassment for the Kremlin. A Video and pictures of the damaged section of the bridge, show the rail portion engulfed in towering flames, and a section of the road portion had collapsed into the sea.
Oleg Kryuchkov, an aide to Russia’s head of Crimea, via the Russian News Agency TASS was quoted as saying-
“According to preliminary information, a fuel storage tank is on fire… Navigable arches were not damaged. It is too early to speak about causes and consequences. Work to extinguish the blaze is under way,”
-Oleg Kryuchkov, Aide to Russia’s Head of Crimea
According to Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee, the incident has been touted as related to a truck having “blown up”, according to RIA Novosti, another Russian state news outlet.
Ukraine’s Air Force did post footage of the destruction on Telegram with the caption –
“Morning on the Crimean bridge. Fuel tanks are on fire. Part of the roadway was also destroyed! Everything will be Ukraine!”
-Ukraine Air Force Post
However, despite the post, Ukraine’s official position on the incident is currently ambiguous. For Russia it means Rubles up in smoke. What a birthday celebration for Putin who turned 70 years old the day before - candles on a cake might have been less expensive.
Sure, to be, time consuming to fix, the bridge collapsing as a result of the blaze, with affected travel will be a certain blessing for the Ukraine, who saw the Kremlin use this bridge as a supply line for munitions in the present conflict with Russia. Sure, to be seen as an escalation of the war – it remains to be seen how the Kremlin answers this.
One Blogger added-
“The attack took place just at the time when the Russian military on the Kherson front was building up for a counterpunch against Ukrainian forces that had been taking major casualties over the past six weeks. Trainload after trainload of military supplies have been going into Crimea and beyond over the past several weeks. Until the Russians get the damage fixed, they will have to depend on an air bridge, as the remaining intact span cannot by itself make up for the lost transport capacity.”
- LuciusAnnaeusSeneca, Breitbart Blogger
"Russia treacherously attacked our state in the morning, as Nazi Germany did in the WW2 years. As of today, our countries are on different sides of world history. Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself & won't give up its freedom no matter what Moscow thinks."
- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy