The bridge connects mainland Russia with Crimea.
(Photo: IMAGO/ITAR-TASS)
Riga The fire may have been extinguished. But the strategic consequences of the fire on the Kerch Bridge are likely to be immense for Russia’s military, which is currently fighting in Ukraine. The bridge, which connects the Crimean Peninsula to mainland Russia, is considered an important supply route for Russian forces fighting in southern Ukraine.
According to Russian authorities, a bomb exploded early in the morning and started a fire on the bridge. It connects the Crimean Peninsula, which was occupied by Russia and illegally annexed in 2014, to the Russian mainland. On Saturday morning, Russia named a truck bomb as the cause of the fire.
The Russian National Counter-Terrorism Committee said on Saturday the bomb set fire to seven railroad cars loaded with fuel, leading to “partial collapse of two bridge sections.”
Two sections of the bridge for car traffic have partially collapsed. For the time being, there were no statements as to who was held responsible for the attack.
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Although Russia occupied areas north of Crimea at the beginning of the invasion in February, the military also created a land corridor along the Sea of Azov. However, Ukraine is currently trying to recapture these areas with a large-scale counteroffensive.
Strategic and symbolic damage to Russia
In the process, Ukraine has made significant land gains in the east and south of the country in recent weeks, retaking areas previously held by Russia during the seven-month war. Should the bridge be rendered inoperable, it would be significantly more difficult to bring supplies to the peninsula for the Russian military.
From the Crimean capital Simferopol, on the other hand, it was said that there were no threats of supply bottlenecks. The Russian Ministry of Energy announced that the fuel supply was secured, regardless of the diesel burned.
Construction of the 19-kilometer bridge began in 2015, a year after Russia illegally annexed Crimea to connect the peninsula to mainland Russia. It is regarded as Putin’s prestige project and therefore has a symbolic character in addition to the strategic benefit.
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In the past, Ukraine had repeatedly threatened attacks on the bridge, which also found its way into the cultural scene. For example, an artist created the image of a postage stamp showing fires on the bridge. Citizens of Kiev posed for photos in front of the oversized stamp in the Ukrainian capital on Saturday morning.
The road bridge was opened in 2018, the railway bridge in 2019. The construction consists of two parallel bridges, so-called tied arch bridges, each for road and rail traffic, and the corresponding access routes.
President Vladimir Putin was informed of the explosion and ordered a panel to be formed to deal with the situation.
Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter that this is “the beginning”. He does not claim that Ukraine is directly responsible for the incident, but also writes: “Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled.”
With agency material.
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