This Sunday is above all the day after: the day after the explosion on the Crimean bridge. Putin now blames the Ukrainian secret service. Although the bridge itself was badly damaged, rail and road traffic are still possible. In addition, Germany is putting together a winter package and a renowned economist is warning Putin. And in Zaporizhia, according to Zelensky, Russian rockets hit a residential building.
Putin accuses Ukraine of attacking a bridge
Russian President Vladimir Putin has no doubts as to who is behind the Crimean Bridge explosion, which he personally inaugurated in 2018. There is "no doubt" that the Ukrainian secret service SBU is responsible, the Russian media quote him as saying. "The perpetrators, executors and clients are the Ukrainian secret services." And further: "This is an act of terrorism aimed at destroying critical civilian infrastructure in the Russian Federation."
Contradictory statements come from Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says nothing about the authorship, his advisor Mykhailo Podoliak now refers to Russia. "It is worth noting that, according to all indications, the truck that exploded entered the bridge from the Russian side," he told the online newspaper Ukrajinska Pravda. Before that, however, Podoljak sounded a bit different. He tweeted: "Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine." After all, it is also assumed in Russia that one of their own was involved in the attack, as Alexander Bastrykin, head of the investigative authority, said. The driver of the exploded truck was a local.
Crimean bridge back in service, trains are said to be running according to schedule
An open question is how badly the Crimean Bridge was damaged. The British secret service assumes that the capacity is impaired in any case. Two of the four lanes collapsed over a length of 250 meters. The other two tracks would probably be used again, according to the British Ministry of Defense's daily intelligence update on the Ukraine war. What the Russians confirmed: According to them, car and train traffic across the bridge has resumed. The long-distance passenger trains between Russia and Crimea ran on Sunday "according to the normal timetable".
Germany helps Ukraine with a winter package
Meanwhile, the federal government is preparing a new aid package for the Ukrainian soldiers. This is about equipment for the winter - part of the package is 100,000 warm undercoats and other winter clothing, 100 heatable team tents, hundreds of mobile power generators and pallets of food packages, reports the "Spiegel". Cost point: 11 million euros. As welcome as the delivery may be, the Ukrainians would be even happier with battle tanks made in Germany.
Economist warns of demographic catastrophe
While the Crimean Bridge is making headlines, a Russian economist from California speaks out - with a warning to Putin. Russia will suffer from the consequences of partial mobilization for years, Oleg Itskhoki from the University of California in Los Angeles tells Der Spiegel. Mainly men between the ages of 20 and 35 would be drafted. "This is a generation that is already rather small," said the native of Moscow. Because of the slump in births in the early 1990s, it already includes only half as many men as the next higher age cohort. He fears a "demographic catastrophe". Also because he assumes that 60 to 70 percent of the soldiers who are now conscripted will die or be wounded in action.
Twelve dead in Russian attack in Zaporizhia
Meanwhile, the war rages on. A night Russian rocket attack on Zaporizhia kills 12 people and injures 49, including 6 children. President Zelenskyj published pictures of badly damaged skyscrapers on his Telegram channel. He spoke of "absolute evil". The "terrorists" would be held accountable from the commander to the perpetrator. According to Ukrainian military information, the Russian troops are said to have fired at least twelve rockets at the residential buildings. There is no confirmation from the Russian side.
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