It is the symbol of the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014. Part of the automobile and rail bridge which spans the Kerch Strait, connecting this Ukrainian peninsula annexed to Russian territory, collapsed on Saturday October 8 in morning, after an explosion that caused a major fire. A first assessment of the Russian authorities, Saturday at midday, reported at least three dead.
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The 18-kilometer-long bridge, built at great expense and inaugurated in 2018 by Vladimir Putin himself, is used in particular to transport military equipment for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine. Here is what we know about this explosion and its consequences.
An explosion caused by “a car bomb”, according to the Russian authorities
The explosion occurred “at 6:07 a.m.” (5h07 in France), “on the road side” of the Crimean Bridge, according to the Russian national anti-terrorist committee, the country’s main investigative body, quoted by Russian agencies. The detonation caused the fire to “seven railway cisterns” which were moving towards the Crimea. “Two Road Lanes” partly collapsed, but the arch of the bridge was not affected, according to the Russian investigative committee.
The first report delivered Saturday noon by the Russian investigation committee reports at least three deaths. The Russian authorities had earlier opened a criminal investigation and promised to identify “everyone connected to this crime”. The victims “are probably the passengers of a car that was next to the exploded truck”said the investigators, stating that “the bodies of two men and a woman” were taken out of the water.
Images circulating on social media show the moment a ball of fire explodes on the bridge as a heavy truck passes, igniting the railway line for tens of meters and causing the collapse of a section of road.
#Ukraine the moment of the explosion on the Kerch bridge connecting the #Crimea to the #Russia and images of significant damage pic.twitter.com/Vr9K0JodcT
— Wassim Nasr (@SimNasr) October 8, 2022
The Kremlin spokesman told the Russian agency Ria Novosti that Vladimir Putin ordered the formation of a government commission to establish the facts. The Russian anti-terrorist committee has already announced that the disaster took place after “Truck Explosion” and claimed that it was“a car bomb”. Vladimir Konstantinov, head of the Crimean assembly (the regional parliament installed by Russia), went further, denouncing a coup “Ukrainian vandals”.
Ukraine jokes about the explosion, without claiming it
On the Ukrainian side, politicians were ironic about the explosion of the Crimean bridge. Without going so far as to claim it. “Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine”commented on Twitter Mikhailo Podoliakadviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov posted him on Twitter a video of the cisterns fire accompanied by the song Happy Birthday Mister President, by Marilyn Monroe. A reference to Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday the day before.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry compared the attack to the one that sank the Russian cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea in April, another “symbol of Russian power in Ukrainian Crimea”. “What else awaits you Russkofs?”, did he write abusively on Twitter.
The kyiv security services (SBU) for their part published on Telegram hijacked verses by the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko on “the sun rising over the burning bridge”. “Today is a perfect opportunity to revise some poems by Taras Shevchenko”quipped the SBU.
The Ukrainian Post is preparing for its part to print stamps bearing the image of the “Crimean bridge, or, more exactly, what’s left of it”. His boss, Igor Smelyansky, posted the design of these new stamps on Facebook, showing an explosion on the Crimean Bridge and another ironically depicting an iconic scene from the film. titanic.
In front of the town hall #Kyiv this saturday morning pic.twitter.com/e1S9c8eThV
— Stephane Siohan (@stefsiohan) October 8, 2022
“Kyiv regime’s reaction to damage to civilian infrastructure demonstrates its terrorist nature”said the spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova, quoted by Russian news agencies.
Another setback for the Russian army
Russia has always maintained that this bridge poses no risk, despite the fighting in Ukraine. However, Moscow has already threatened kyiv in the past with reprisals if Ukrainian forces attack this infrastructure or others in Crimea. Russian MP Oleg Morozov, quoted by the Ria Novosti agency, demanded a reply on Saturday “adequate”. “Otherwise, this type of terrorist attack will multiply”he said.
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The Crimean bridge is essential for the transport of people and goods to the peninsula annexed in 2014, but it is also essential for the Russian troops deployed in Ukraine. “L“Russia will have serious logistical challenges using occupied parts of southern Ukraine as a resupply route”, Twitter analytics (in English) Nolan Peterson, war reporter present in Ukraine since 2014.
Rail and road traffic have been interrupted and ferries have been set up to allow the crossing, according to Russian agencies. The bridge should not be usable for a few weeks. Repairs may take “two months”, according to Kirill Stremoussov, responsible for the Russian occupation in the Ukrainian region of Kherson, neighboring Crimea. The All-Russian Union of Insurers told RIA Novosti it estimated the damage from the emergency at between 200 and 500 million rubles (between 3.3 and 8.2 million euros).
If kyiv turns out to be the source of the explosion, the fact that such crucial infrastructure so far from the front could be damaged by Ukrainian forces would be a snub for Moscow. Especially since Russia has had a series of military setbacks since the beginning of September. His troops are forced to retreat, whether in the northeast and in the south of the country, in particular the region of Kherson, bordering Crimea, of which the Russian president claims the annexation. “This bridge is an obvious military target” for the Ukrainian forces, estimates on franceinfo Cyrille Bret, geopolitician and researcher at the Jacques Delors Institute.
A highly symbolic site for Vladimir Putin
Inaugurated with great fanfare by Vladimir Putin driving a heavyweight in 2018, this three billion dollar bridge has become the symbol of the annexation of Crimea in 2014. “It is an essential infrastructure for Crimea to integrate economically into the Russian Federation: without this bridge, Crimea would be a kind of island off the coast of the Federation”analyzes researcher Cyrille Bret. “The Kerch Strait is a real symbol of Russia’s desire to annex a whole part of Ukrainian territory, not only Crimea, but also the northern province of Mariupol.”
“This explosion marks a bit like the breaking of the umbilical cord that the Russian authorities wanted to establish between Crimea and the territory proper of the Russian Federation”, continues the expert. The chains “civilian and military supplies in Crimea” will be affected. “This bridge is used to transport everything that Crimea lacks: building materials, food… Crimea is a somewhat underdeveloped territory from an economic point of view”notes the specialist.