Just hours after Vladimir Putin’s birthday, a major bridge between Russia and Ukraine blew up in an alleged assault by Ukrainian saboteurs this morning.
Videos of the explosion on the Kerch Bridge, which connects the peninsula to the Russian mainland, show it shaking. As Ukraine makes more advances in the south into Kherson, the offensive might cut off supplies to Putin’s soldiers.
A train caught fire in the explosion, and a portion of the bridge has fallen into the water. Despite Russian assurances that there are sufficient supplies for two weeks, lengthy gasoline lineups have already started to develop in Crimea.
One Ukrainian official bragged that “Putin should be thrilled,” despite the fact that Kyiv has not admitted responsibility for the strike. Not everyone receives such a pricey birthday gift, the Russian president’s 70th birthday being yesterday.
According to Russian security, a vehicle bomb detonated on the bridge, igniting seven oil tankers on the adjacent railway line. Before the flames could be put out, it took four hours.
Before being permitted to pass the bridge, where it exploded, the vehicle was checked by the system with the highest level of security.
The claims are made despite the fact that Russia believed the bride had impenetrable security and military protection when it was inaugurated by Vladimir Putin in 2018.
Another train route to Crimea has reportedly been shut off in what some have described as coordinated attacks on Russian supply lines, according to reports.
There have been rumors that Putin may address the country on the bridge explosion amid concerns that he could wreck havoc in Ukraine.
In the conflict with Ukraine, he has already made hints that he would use nuclear weapons.
A top Ukrainian official expressed his delight at hearing about the explosion and expressed the expectation that it would aid in Russia’s expulsion.
On Twitter, President Zelensky’s adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote: “Crimea, the bridge, the beginning.
Everything that is unlawful must be destroyed, everything that has been taken must be given back to Ukraine, and everything that Russia has captured must be ejected.
The Kerch Bridge and the guided missile cruiser Moskva, two infamous icons of Ukrainian Crimea, have both been destroyed, the Ukrainian defense ministry said on social media. What comes next, russkis?
As Ukraine begins its counteroffensive against Russian soldiers in the country’s south and east, an explosion on the Kerch bridge occurred at 3 a.m. GMT today.
Video shows the adjacent road bridge partly collapsed and the train bridge engulfed in flames.
As a train sat in the center of the bridge and caught fire, witnesses stated they could hear the enormous explosion from kilometers away.
There were concerns as to why the bombs had eluded detection by X-rays screening vehicles on the bridge.
Before, it was believed that Russian personnel, including a group of military dolphins, were closely guarding the bridge.
Before being permitted to cross the bridge, authorities check and examine each vehicle. There is also a significant military presence nearby. None of this, however, was able to halt the explosion.
Russian-made ST-6035 “stationary radio-technical inspection complexes” are installed at the entrances at both ends to detect bombs.
According to Crimean official Oleg Kryuchkov, the fire on the Crimean bridge is now being put out.
“As soon as it’s finished, the bridge damage will be inspected, and after that, we can speak about the schedule for repair.”
After the bridge was destroyed and shortly after the Russian puppet authorities said there would be enough fuel for 40 days, lengthy lines started to form at gas stations in Crimea.
As panicked shoppers stood in line for hours, other reports said that there was just 15 days’ worth of gasoline.
In response to worries about supplies reaching the peninsula, locals were also restricted to 3kg of necessities, according to sources from the peninsula.
In a video, a Russian guy in Crimea is heard stating, “We had a nice life, but it was brief.”
“The bridge’s end.”
The routes [of escape] are now blocked.
Military analyst Yuri Kotyonok, a supporter of Putin, joined a chorus of those calling for massive Russian assaults on Ukraine.
“Crushing should be the solution to blowing up the bridge,” said someone.
The issue is punishment and our ability as a state to react to terrorist assaults, not retaliation.
“The Crimean Bridge will without a doubt be rebuilt.” I’m hoping they’ll finish it quickly, like in the next few months.
Why “targets in Kyiv are still intact” was his question.
‘It appears like this is the precursor to the major attack of the Ukrainians in the south,’ said Yuri Podolyaka, a well-known pro-Russian blogger.
“I myself will consider it a sign of a [epic failure] if over the next several days Ukraine does not descend into darkness and attacks are not carried out on the bridges over the Dnieper.”
The Crimean bridge has been destroyed, according to Vladimir Rogov, leader of the “We are Together with Russia” campaign and a top official in occupied Ukraine. Road and railroad connections have both been severed.
“The terrorist entity [in Ukraine] must be annihilated.”
He revealed the precise locations of the Ukrainian sites he wished to attack.
The fire broke out hours after explosions shook the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine early on Saturday, sending smoke columns into the sky and setting off a string of further explosions.
Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, said that missile strikes in the city’s center were the cause of the early-morning blasts.
He also said that one of the city’s medical facilities and a non-residential structure both caught fire as a result of the explosions. There were no reports of casualties right away.
Russian official television said that a gasoline tank was on fire on the bridge, albeit the exact source of the incident is yet unknown.
Russian authorities said that the burning train on the bridge constituted a “emergency.”
It is possible that an improvised explosive device concealed in one of the passing cars was set up, according to a Russian Telegram channel.
Videos showed the enormous fire on the 2018-opened bridge that the Ukrainians had long threatened to destroy.
It seems as if something flew into the bridge, according to comments on one video.
At first, Russia acknowledged that a gasoline storage tank had caught fire at 6 a.m. local time, but it was unclear if a bomb or missile had set it off.
The Kremlin-appointed leader of Crimea’s annexation, Oleg Kryuchkov, said: “According to preliminary information, a gasoline storage tank is on fire.”
Navigational arches were unharmed.
‘It is too soon to discuss causes and effects.
Work is being done to put out the fire.
According to Crimean Railways, which is under Russian authority, “a gasoline tank near the tail of a freight train caught fire.”
The locomotive and many cars were sent to Kerch station.
The bridge connects the Russian Krasnodar region with Crimea.
It will disrupt Putin’s supply lines to the territory he annexed eight years ago if it is out of commission.
In recent days, Ukraine’s predictions that they will retake the peninsula have grown more ambitious.
Russian Telegram channel Rybar’s report stated:
Around six in the morning, an explosion occurred on a portion of the Crimean Bridge.
Official sources state that a gasoline tanker caught fire.
Traffic has been momentarily halted as emergency personnel and road workers attempt to put out the fire.
A simple fire could not have caused one of the cars to be rendered inoperable, as shown in images and video recordings.
“It is probable that an IED concealed in one of the passing cars was detonated,” the report said.
According to Russian sources, the assault on the Crimean Bridge, which the Ukrainians have long considered a prized target, may have been carried out by an underwater drone.
What kind of power did the explosion need to have for a span of the bridge to go under water, asked pro-Kremlin war reporter Andrey Rudenko?
“It is very reasonable to believe that the primary explosion occurred underwater.”
There were rumors that the West had given Ukraine underwater kamikaze drones at the start of the year.
The alleged incident happened the day after Vladimir Putin turned 70.
He demanded that Kyiv be exacted upon right now.
But I’m certain that what occurred will now be [officially] classified as a calamity [not brought on by Ukraine].
Russia will eventually “do the right thing,” however.
It is vital to respond in a manner that causes the ground to burn under these animals’ feet.
The explosion reportedly occurred as a new Russian general was appointed to lead Putin’s “special military operation.”
Army General Sergey Surovikin has assumed leadership, despite this not being formally stated, according to sources.
According to a statement made by the British Ministry of Defence in June, suspicions of corruption and violence have haunted Surovikin’s career for more than thirty years.
Two men in a car on the bridge overheard the conversation.
We should probably leave it, one person said.
What should we do?
“I have young kids,” you say.
One of the men calls Anatoly [Tolya] and informs him that he will be late because the bridge is on fire.
On the peninsula, there were reported car lines; some drivers were accommodated at Kerch Airport.
‘A temporary housing complex with restrooms, tents, food, and water was erected at the airport site.
“Car traffic is being diverted to the airport right now.”
Russia insisted that there was a railway fire.
RBC received word from the Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee that “a vehicle was blown up on the Crimean crossing.”
“This caused the train’s seven fuel tanks to catch fire.” The bridge’s two automobile spans partly collapsed.
After the bridge was destroyed, anger increased among Moscow pundits who were in favor of the war.
“I know what we are going to hear: it is time to attack the decision-making centers and leave not a single bridge intact in Kyiv,” said Vladimir Kornilov, a writer for the state-run RIA Novosti.
If it hadn’t already been stated a million times, I would also say this.
“One thing is certain: as long as we do not react severely to more and more blatant sabotage by restricting ourselves to hollow threats, this sabotage will only increase and increase,” the author writes.
The head of RT media, Anton Krasovsky, said: “For the bridge, one must respond savagely.” Attack Lviv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odessa, and Zhytomyr. Quit being so patient!
As Kiev’s troops move in the south and east, an expert sets out the strategy for defeating Russia, with all roads leading to Crimea.
President Volodymyr Zelesnky said back in August that “This conflict started with Crimea and must conclude with Crimea – with its freedom.” Military analysts claim that his generals are specifically seeking to do that.
The Ukrainian path to triumph, according to Ben Hodges, a former American commander in Europe, begins in Kherson and Mariupol and ends “when the last Russian soldier crosses the [Kerch] bridge out of Crimea.”
According to General Hodges, who is currently working at the Center for European Policy Analysis, Ukraine’s main effort will continue to be capturing Kherson in the south, where a significant assault has been going on since early August, with a secondary attack hooking down through the Donbas and towards the city of Mariupol.
He said at a CEPA conference last week that after Mariupol fell, those forces would also assemble in Crimea and bombard the peninsula with HIMARS rockets to drive the Russians back over the border.
As he shared his own opinions on Twitter, Dr. Mike Martin, a visiting scholar of war studies at King’s College, also mentioned the possibility of a third assault in which Ukraine would use its reserves to divide the Russian position in half and make it impossible for Putin to send reinforcements.
There are no guarantees in battle, but Putin will undoubtedly use all available means to halt Kiev, including maybe employing a nuclear bomb or deploying a large number of conscripts to the front lines.
However, as Ukraine’s strategy for success becomes evident, MailOnline looks at how it may develop.
Kherson
Early in August, Ukraine launched its lauded counterattack on the Kherson area. Since then, it has advanced gradually, however indications of a breakthrough this week have begun to surface.
The aim, according to Kyiv, is to retake Kherson from Russian rule. It is the only regional capital that Putin has so far taken control of during the conflict and is situated in a key area, spanning the Dnipro River where it empties into the Dniprovska Gulf before continuing on to the Black Sea.
By seizing it, Russia would lose its last foothold on the west bank of the Dnipro, thus rule out an attack on Odessa, demonstrate the fraud of Putin’s phony referendums and claims of annexation, and pave the way for an attack on Crimea, the crown jewel of Ukraine.
According to Ge
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