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. Whether this is true is still unclear. Eyewitness video, which has not yet been verified, suggests the truck was intact at the time of the blast.
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.” At least three people died, the Russian side said.
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.
The burned wagons are said to have been loaded with fuel.
(Photo: IMAGO/ITAR-TASS)
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.
Rail traffic should start again in the evening.
(Photo: IMAGO/ITAR-TASS)
President Vladimir Putin was informed of the explosion and ordered a panel to be formed to deal with the situation. Railway traffic on the damaged Crimean Bridge is scheduled to resume in the evening (7:00 p.m. CEST). The Interfax agency quotes the Russian Ministry of Transport with the information. Traffic will also be resumed in the remaining lanes.
Ukraine celebrates bridge fire
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.”
Western security circles had little doubt that Ukraine carried out the attack on the bridge. With the blow, supplies for the Russian troops in Crimea were cut off. It is now becoming very difficult to bring in the necessary material for the armed forces. Ukraine has announced a reconquest of the peninsula that Russia illegally annexed.
However, from the point of view of military experts, an advance on Crimea is likely to be difficult. On the one hand, the space for an attack is limited and, on the other hand, Russia has well-trained troops stationed there. According to Western security circles, since Crimea is viewed by the Russian population as part of their own national territory, the motivation to defend it is likely to be significantly higher than in Luhansk or Cherson.
According to a military expert, a mobile explosive device was used that must have had enormous power. The expert said it could not be attached to the bridge in advance because there were strict controls and TV surveillance. The project must have been very well prepared, since a train carrying fuel was also damaged in the explosion. As a result, another part of the bridge was destroyed by the fire. In addition to the roadways, the Kersch Bridge has a rail track that runs parallel to the road.
The Internet newspaper Ukrajinska Pravda, citing security circles in Kyiv, reported that the secret service SBU was behind the special operation. The SBU did not confirm this, but, like many official bodies in Ukraine, published photos of the burning bridge on social networks – and wrote a poem about it.
Post boss Ihor Smylyanskyj announced in the Telegram news channel that a special stamp from the bridge would be printed. “The morning has never been more beautiful. For this holiday we are releasing a new stamp with the Crimean Bridge – or rather, what’s left of it.” Earlier, the Ukrainian Post Office issued a stamp of the wrecked Russian cruiser Moskva of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
With agency material.
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