"It was a mistake", the Russian explanation of the bombing of Crimea 1:17
(CNN)
--
In a major blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a massive explosion severely damaged the only bridge connecting the annexed Crimean peninsula to the Russian mainland, crippling a key supply route to Moscow's war effort. in Ukraine.
Saturday's blast caused several parts of the Kerch Strait road and rail bridge, inaugurated by Putin himself in 2018, to collapse, images and videos from the scene showed.
At least three people were killed in the blast, Russian officials said, citing preliminary information.
The exact cause of the explosion on Europe's longest bridge has not yet been confirmed.
Russian officials said a truck exploded causing sections of the bridge road leading to Crimea to collapse.
A subsequent fire engulfed a train of fuel tanks on another separate adjacent part of the bridge.
Ukrainian police say the bodies of more than 500 civilians were found in Kharkiv
Putin ordered a "government commission" to examine the "emergency" of the Kerch bridge in Crimea, Russian state media TASS reported.
An official in Crimea blamed "Ukrainian hooligans" for the explosion.
Some Ukrainian officials gloated over the incident without directly claiming responsibility, even announcing that commemorative postage stamps will be made.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said "the Kyiv regime's reaction to the destruction of civilian infrastructure testifies to its terrorist nature."
advertising
Damage to the bridge appears to be significant, with the traffic-carrying portion of the highway westbound gridlocked in at least two places.
The damage to the rail link where the fuel tanks caught fire is still unclear.
The bridge is of strategic importance because it links Russia's Krasnodar region with the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014 in a move condemned by the international community.
This is a critical supply path for Crimea both for its daily needs and for army supplies.
In recent months, dozens of Russian military convoys have used the bridge, transporting vehicles, armor and fuel.
An image of the explosion on the bridge in Crimea
If the Russian military is unable to use the bridge, its supply lines to forces in southern Ukraine will be weakened, especially if combined with the Ukrainian military's advances south into the northern Kherson region. from Crimea.
Russia has used Crimean railways to transport supplies to forces in Kherson, but several railway hubs both there and in Crimea have been hit by long-range Ukrainian rockets.
Sergey Aksenov, the Russian-appointed head of Crimea, said "two sections of the road bed from the Krasnodar to Kerch part [of the bridge] collapsed" after the blast, adding that fuel tanks from a train they caught fire
Video and images of the 19-kilometre (11-mile) bridge appear to show that a section of the highway had fallen into the water, with several charred fuel tanks on the adjacent track.
"As soon as the fire is extinguished, it will be possible to assess the extent of the damage to the bridge and piers, and it will be possible to talk about the restoration of traffic," Aksenov said.
The Russian Investigative Committee said on Telegram that preliminary information indicates that three people were killed in the incident, "presumably the passengers of a car that was next to the truck that was detonated."
At least two bodies, that of a man and a woman, were recovered from the water and authorities were trying to confirm their identities, the investigative panel said.
Records indicate that the truck that exploded belonged to someone in Russia's Krasnodar region.
Investigators are searching the home of the owner and trying to determine the route of the truck, the investigation committee said.
The bridge crosses the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov, on which the main Ukrainian ports, including Mariupol, are located.
For Russia, the bridge symbolizes the physical "reunification" of Crimea with the Russian mainland.
No further details have been announced about the scope of the commission in charge of the investigation of what happened.
Russian state media RIA Novosti said "there are still no projections as to when the restoration of the Crimean bridge will begin," citing Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov.
A Crimean official blamed "Ukrainian hooligans."
Image of the damage caused by the explosion on the bridge that connects Russia with Crimea
“Ukrainian hooligans somehow managed to get their bloody paws on the Crimean bridge.
And now they have something to be proud of, in their 23 years there they failed to build anything worthy or interesting in Crimea.
But they managed to damage the roadbed of the Russian bridge," said Chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea, Vladimir Konstantinov.
"It is the essence of the Kyiv regime and the Ukrainian state... Of course, the causes of the accident will be investigated and the damage will be quickly repaired," he added.
CNN was unable to independently verify Konstantinov's claim.
Ukraine's reaction to the explosion
Ukrainian officials mocked Russia for the blast without directly acknowledging that Ukraine was responsible for the attack.
"Air Defense of the Russian Federation, are you sleeping?"
the Navy of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Facebook, along with a video showing a completely destroyed section of the bridge road.
“Russian illegal construction is starting to collapse and catch fire.
The reason is simple: if you build something explosive, sooner or later it will explode.
And this is just the beginning," David Arakhamia, head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's party in parliament and a member of Kyiv's negotiating team with Russia, said in a Telegram statement about the incident.
A top Ukrainian official, Oleksiy Danilov, posted a video of the damaged Kerch Bridge along with a clip of Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President," which Monroe performed for President John F. Kennedy in 1962. Putin turned 70 on Friday. .
In addition, the Ukrainian Postal Service will issue postage stamps with the damaged bridge, its executive director said on Saturday.
In images shared on Twitter, it is seen that the postage stamps would show two figures resembling Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, standing on what appears to be a damaged bridge in a pose reminiscent of the embrace of the intertwined arms of the actors of the movie "Titanic" of 1997.
“I won't wish you a good day, because it's already wonderful.
The Kerch bridge is destroyed," said official Igor Smelyansky.
On Thursday, Oleksii Hromov, a senior General Staff official, said that since September 21, Ukrainian troops had managed to advance 55 kilometers in the northeast, "establish control over 93 settlements, [and] take control of more 2,400 square kilometers."
Hromov seemed to be referencing victories in the Kharkiv region that were achieved before September 21 but only confirmed later.
In an interview in August, a senior Ukrainian military commander said the Kerch bridge was a legitimate target.
"This is a necessary measure to deprive them (Russia) of the opportunity to provide reserves and reinforce their troops from Russian territory," Maj. Gen. Dmytro Marchenko said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
Traffic jam after the explosion on the Crimean bridge, on Saturday, October 8, 2022.
The bridge from Russia to Crimea
The Kerch Bridge can be crossed by 40,000 cars a day and can carry 14 million passengers and 13 million tons of cargo a year, state news agency RIA Novosti reported when Putin opened the bridge in 2018.
Masked and camouflaged Russian special forces seized Crimea in a hit-and-run operation in February 2014. Russia initially denied that its troops carried out the mission.
Later, he recognized that the so-called "little green men" were, in fact, part of the Russian units.
The West quickly responded with economic sanctions.
Russia built the bridge after annexation and spent approximately $3.7 billion on it.
The damage caused on Saturday will also be a psychological blow to Moscow: the bridge was the physical expression of Putin's goal of uniting Ukraine with Russia.
On the day it opened in 2018, Putin led a triumphant convoy around the bridge, driving a truck adorned with flags.
After the opening of the bridge, the United States condemned its construction as illegal.
"Russia's construction of the bridge serves as a reminder of Russia's continued willingness to flout international law," a US State Department statement said at the time.
Vladimir Putin during the opening of the Crimean Bridge, in 2018
“The bridge represents not only an attempt by Russia to solidify its illegal occupation of Crimea, but also impedes navigation by limiting the size of ships that can transit the Kerch Strait, the only path to reach the territorial waters of Crimea. Ukraine on the Sea of Azov.
Ukrainian officials echoed those sentiments after the explosion.
“Crimea, the bridge, the beginning.
Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled,” said Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the President of Ukraine.
Train crash in eastern Ukraine
Meanwhile, a freight train in Ilovaisk, in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region, was hit by a "powerful explosion" on Saturday morning, according to Mariupol mayor's aide Petro Andrushenko.
“Not just Crimea.
Not just fuel tanks.
There is also a freight train in Ilovaisk.
Locals report a fairly powerful explosion and subsequent detonation at night.
The occupiers now have big problems with supplies from both sides,” Andrushenko said.
A freight train in Ilovaisk, in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region, was hit by a "powerful explosion" on Saturday morning.
Pro-Russian authorities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic confirmed the freight train incident and released a video on Saturday showing the aftermath of the fire at a local train station.
Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said on Telegram that shelling "by Ukrainian militants" caused the fire.
CNN was unable to independently verify the claim.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden expressed caution about the dangers stemming from Putin's nuclear threats, as his military continues to experience military setbacks in Ukraine.
“For the first time since the Cuban missile crisis, we have a direct threat of using (a) nuclear weapon if things continue the way they are,” Biden warned Thursday night during remarks at a Democratic fundraiser in New York.
He added: "I don't think there is the ability to easily (use) a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with an Armageddon."
CNN's Kostan Nechyporenko, Olga Voitovych, Eyad Turki, Daria Tarasova, Zayn Nabbi, Teele Rebane, Oleksandra Ochman, Xiaofei Xu, Josh Pennington, Brad Lendon and Jason Hanna contributed to this report.
Conflict Russia - UkraineCrimeaBridge
