In the morning there is an explosion on the Crimean Bridge, the smoke from the subsequent fire can be seen from miles away. Damage to the bridge connecting Crimea to mainland Russia is extensive. Parts of the building collapse.
Parts of the strategically important road and railway bridge connecting Crimea to mainland Russia collapsed after an explosion. According to Russian information, a detonation in a truck had previously occurred there, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said. The arch of the bridge that spans the Kerch Strait was not damaged.
According to the information, the vehicle came from mainland Russia and was heading towards the coastal town of Kerch in Crimea. Seven fuel trailers on a train caught fire as a result of the explosion. The agency did not explain how a single truck could have caused damage of such magnitude.
The damage to the track systems and the road is apparently massive. Media close to the Kremlin have published videos showing a destroyed roadway and parts of the motorway that have fallen into the water. Several burnt-out wagons of a freight train, which are said to have been used to transport diesel, can be seen on the adjacent train route.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Civil Protection announced that the fire had been extinguished. According to official information, there were no injuries. Most recently, in the Kerch region, which borders directly on the bridge in Crimea, there have been repeated incidents with drones exploding. Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak tweeted that this was "the beginning". He did not claim Ukraine's direct responsibility for the incident, but also wrote: "Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled."
Ukraine, which has been fighting a war of aggression by Russia since the end of February, has repeatedly announced that it will take back Crimea. The military leadership in Kyiv also announced that the bridge facilities would be shelled as soon as the heavy weapons supplied by the West were available. Russia, in turn, stressed that an attack on the bridge would be a clear crossing of the red line.
The power apparatus in Moscow threatened to attack the command centers in Kyiv in the event of an attack. According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the establishment of a commission to uncover the background to the incident. The authorities in Crimea announced that they would ensure traffic via ferries and via the land corridor recently occupied in Ukraine. There were no threats of supply bottlenecks, according to the Crimean capital Simferopol. Crimean parliament leader Vladimir Konstantinov said the bridge was damaged by "Ukrainian vandals". The Russian Ministry of Energy announced that the fuel supply was secured, regardless of the diesel burned.
