In Kyiv, citizens pose in front of a design for a postage stamp depicting the destruction of the Crimean Bridge. Earlier, the Ukrainian Post issued a stamp of the wrecked Russian cruiser Moskva of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
(Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire)
Simferopol, Kyiv, Moscow A heavy explosion on the Crimean bridge, which is important for Russia, has raised international fears of a further escalation of the conflict. But Moscow failed to provide a quick and clear answer, at least on Saturday. The Ukrainian leadership, for its part, is gloating without officially assuming responsibility for the alleged attack. Traffic over the bridge resumed to a limited extent in the evening.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not revealed his country’s involvement in the explosion on the Crimean bridge. In Ukraine it was mostly sunny and warm, “unfortunately cloudy in Crimea, although warm there too,” he said in his daily video speech, alluding to the morning detonation on the bridge. He did not go into detail about the incident.
He then asked the Russians once more to surrender and flee. This is her best option to stay alive. There will be a future without occupiers in Ukraine. “All over our territory, especially in Crimea,” he said.
The Crimean bridge, which is strategically and symbolically important for Russia, was shaken by a heavy explosion early on Saturday morning. Videos show major destruction. The exact background is still unclear.
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According to Russian sources, a truck exploded. As a result, according to Russian investigators, seven tank wagons with diesel caught fire further away. In addition, parts of the bridge highway fell into the sea. At least three people are said to have been killed.
The exact background is still unclear.
(Photo: IMAGO/UPI Photo)
“Happy Birthday Mr President”
Before Zelenskiy, several high-ranking politicians close to the Ukrainian president had fueled speculation that Kiev was involved in the crime. Ukraine’s Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov posted footage of the partially destroyed structure linking Russia and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, on Facebook on Saturday. He also posted a video showing Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) singing the birthday song “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to then-US President John F. Kennedy in 1962. Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated his 70th birthday on Friday.
>> Read here: Explosion on Crimean bridge: security circles suspect Ukrainian attack
The adviser to the presidential office, Mykhailo Podoliak, initially tweeted: “Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine.” A few hours later he rowed back with cryptic statements. He presented the attack as a competition between the Russian army and the FSB secret service.
The FSB is trying to replace the army leadership and is now suddenly battered itself because it overslept the attack on the bridge. “Isn’t it obvious who caused the explosion?” he practiced conspiracy theories.
Putin orders secret service to tighten control over Crimean bridge
Officially, the FSB was not responsible at all. So far, the task has been shared between the Ministry of Defence, the National Guard and the Ministry of Transport. Only after the explosion did Putin instruct the secret service by decree to tighten control over the damaged Crimean bridge. “The FSB will be given powers to organize and coordinate protective measures for the transport route across the Kerch Strait, for the power bridge of the Russian Federation to the Crimea peninsula and the gas pipeline from Krasnodar Territory to Crimea,” the decree said.
Russian investigators assess the damage.
(Photo: IMAGO/ITAR-TASS)
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It is the first action taken by the Kremlin after the morning’s alleged attack-related explosion. However, the Russian President did not want to comment publicly.
According to official information, Putin will not speak to the Russians in the next few days either. Such an appearance is not planned, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Saturday. Political observers had considered the president’s speech likely given the severe damage to the bridge. In the past, Moscow had threatened Kyiv with serious consequences in the event of an attempted attack on the object.
Appointment of a new supreme commander and evacuation
The Russian troops in Ukraine, meanwhile, have a new commander after numerous defeats in their war of aggression. The 55-year-old Army General Sergei Surovikin was deployed by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to lead the “military special operation,” said ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov in Moscow on Saturday. According to commentators, Shoigu is accommodating his critics, who in view of the defeats had called for the troops in Ukraine to be regrouped.
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At the same time, under pressure from Ukrainian counter-offensives, the Russian occupiers are preparing to evacuate tens of thousands of civilians in the southern Ukrainian region of Cherson annexed by Moscow. Among other things, the Russian regions of Krasnodar and Stavropol are ready to take in children and adults, wrote the head of the occupation of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, on his Telegram channel on Saturday.
What will be important on Sunday
Officially, the Russian authorities are still investigating the explosion at the Crimean bridge. If the first results are already available on Sunday, there could also be an official – and possibly military – reaction from Moscow. More heavy fighting is expected at the front in southern and eastern Ukraine.
More: Don’t miss any development – Everything new in our news blog about the Ukraine war