Blast hits Crimea bridge crucial to Russia's war

Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and the 19-km (12-mile) Crimean Bridge linking it to Russia's transport network was opened with great fanfare four years later by Putin.

Putin's going to be pissed. This represents, in his own mind, one of his pinnacle achievements: the annexation of Crimea and a land bridge to supply it.

Apart from being a military supply route, it is a major supply route for food and goods to crimea. (Hence many in Crimea went to the gas station.) This will tie up many much needed resources for a while.

My only worry is a spiteful retaliation on civilian targets and infrastructure as retaliation.

Putie bridge goes boom-splash!

Now reinforcements and resupply will have to go via sea, where they could fall victim to anti-ship missiles, or overland through "New Russia" (soon to be "Back to Ukraine").

I want to see Mini-me's fan-boys spin this one.....

And I hope the Ukarinians are correct when they say that this is just the beginning.

Had to laugh at this comment from The Russian foreign ministry;

"The Kiev [Kyiv] regime's reaction towards destruction of civilian infrastructure is a testament to its terrorist nature."

Talk about hypocrisy - destroying Ukrainian infrastructure is the only thing Russia has been doing.

Destruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure is estimated at $108 billion

Ah well there's still a lane left for the Russian Occupiers to flee from Crimea.

Ukraine will be in Moscow before Christmas at this rate....

I remember watching the dedication of this bridge on Chinese TV while in Shanghai. The Russians are saying only one side of the road bridge was damaged and they are able to run traffic over the remaining side alternating the direction of traffic. They are claiming the railroad bridge will resume service Saturday night. There is a Twitter video claiming to be of a test train going over the bridge, though from the video it is impossible to verify where it was shot.

The truck that exploded was owned by a firm in Krasnodar. There is also security camera footage of Russian forces inspecting the truck before it crossed the bridge.

Putin blows up bridges he wants to blow up = special operations.

Other people blow up bridges Putin wants intact = terrorism.

They are fascinating, the simple manipulations of language thrown around by devious tyrants.

A Russian tourist association estimated that 50,000 tourists were in Crimea on vacation on Saturday.

I find it incredible that 50,000 Russians are "vacationing" in Crimea, while a few hundred miles north, their soldiers are raping, torturing and executing Ukrainian civilians. I hope they all have to swim home.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/crimea-bridge-russia-war-in-ukraine-damaged-key-supply-route-putin-birthday/

This is being attributed to Ukraine even as the truck originated in Russia proper and was owned by a Russian firm based in Krasnodar. I keep remembering the opening gambit by the Chechens when they tried to run the Russians out of Grozny was a big truck bomb. It will be interesting to find out the identity of the driver and where the trailer it was pulling was loaded.

And here’s another ;

Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova said that what happened to the Crimean bridge is a human rights violation,

How can she say that with a straight face ?

Bronco

The bridge was hit by men dressed in civilian clothes, using civilian equipment with no military markings.

They also killed 3 civilians who were in a car attempting to pass the truck.

The timing (6:00am) suggests that the mission was trying to avoid casualties.

This is terrorism.

Terrorism seeks to instill terror in the public. This isn't that. If it was, it would have been carried out when the bridge was busy with traffic.

This is a strategic attack on a military supply route.

Terrorism is bombing civilian targets, hospitals, public utilities, etc. All of which Russia has been doing throughout the war.

Meanwhile the nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia has been disconnected from the grid for about two days. The plant is now using back up generators with enough fuel on site to last ten days to power the cooling pumps. The clock is ticking.

The bridge was hit by men dressed in civilian clothes, using civilian equipment with no military markings.

They also killed 3 civilians who were in a car attempting to pass the truck.

This is terrorism.

For the first and only time in this or any other context, I am going to quote Cory Lewendowski and say "Womp Womp Womp".

An art school with giant signs saying "Children" - Gone.

A maternity hospital - Gone.

An apartment block just the other day - Gone.

Everyday brings more dead with evidence of torture and execution.

The bridge was a prefectly legitimate target.

Drop the rest of it at the first possible opportunity.

If you want to attack in war, do it in uniform with military marked equipment.

Yeah, or do what real men do and fire missiles at evacuation sites for refugees.

Our pro-invasion friends sure found an interesting time to suddenly care about war crimes. The stench of rank hypocrisy must burn their eyes.

This is terrorism.

If you want to attack a bridge as a military target, the men doing it have to be in uniform and their equipment has to be military equipment.

How about flip flops or plastic bags for footwear? Russian ‘army’ have been sporting some unusual fashion.

Anytime an attack is conducted in unmarked civilian vehicles by people who are in civilian clothes it's terrorism.

Or special forces. Or plain clothes police. Or an intelligence unit. Or ........

The fire was put out, minor repairs carried out and the line the fire was on has reopened.

tooheysnew - yep, it’s despicable hypocrisy from Russian officials.

How about flip flops or plastic bags for footwear? Russian ‘army’ have been sporting some unusual fashion.

I remember in 1990 I was working at an oil development project in Papua New Guinea flying helicopters to build and support the oil rigs in the jungles where there were no roads of any kind. One week the Soviets showed up on the project to demonstrate the Kamov KA-32 and Mil MI-26 on a civilian project. Their Kamov pilots hailed from Vladivostok and usually deployed on icebreakers. They wore these coarse butterscotch colored flight suits, white cotton socks and open toed leather sandals to fly in. Sandals! The USSR collapsed while they were in New Guinea and suddenly many of the pilots and ground crew didn't know which country they were citizens of as their home republics declared their independence from Russia. Very confusing time for them. But the unusual to us footwear is probably less the result of the war than it is their normal habit to wear open toed sandals in warm weather.

for people in uniform and in marked equipment.

Even the Russian separatists put clear markings (Z, V, or O) on their equipment to identify themselves as combatants.

What do you call it when people use the uniforms and equipment of their enemy?

If you want to attack in war, do it in uniform with military marked equipment.

Merchant raiders and Letters of Marque have a centuries old tradition in naval warfare. The US would use their civil airline fleet to transport military reinforcements to Europe or South Korea in the event of a major war. Back in the 1980s it was assumed that all civil flights would be cancelled and the entire US airline fleet would move troops and equipment re-enforce NATO against a Soviet invasion. The airlines get a subsidy for maintaining UHF radios, TACANs and encrypted transponders on civilian airliners to facilitate using military airfields that do not typically use civil VHF NAVAIDS. The US is developing a small amphibious ship for use by the Marines and one of the criteria is that it has to look civilian so it can blend in with merchant traffic in Asian waters so the Chinese cannot easily find them or determine where they are going. Hide in plain sight. The US would issue Letters of Marque to civilian ship owners allowing them to arm their ships, attack enemy shipping and use the proceeds from the goods seized to finance their operations, just like the old days of sail when this was a common way to wage a naval war.

be sure its not crucial at all.this is pure act of terrorism and yes consequences will follow quickly.all of supporters of these terrorists need to know about action and reaction.you will pay dearly for it.

be sure its not crucial at all.this is pure act of terrorism and yes consequences will follow quickly.all of supporters of these terrorists need to know about action and reaction.you will pay dearly for it.

Ohhh what is Imperial Russia going to do? Invade Ukraine? Commit even more war crimes? All hat and no cattle.

What do you call it when people use the uniforms and equipment of their enemy?

Do you mean like what the Israelis did when they crossed the Suez Canal and surrounded the Egyptian 8th Army during the Yom Kippur War? There were no Egyptian forces between the Israeli forces and Cairo. About a quarter of Israel's armored forces was made up of captured Soviet equipment. They used Arabic speaking soldiers in Egyptian uniforms and Russian equipment with Egyptian markings and drove right across the Suez, then surrounded the Egyptian 8th Army from behind.

be sure its not crucial at all.this is pure act of terrorism and yes consequences will follow quickly.all of supporters of these terrorists need to know about action and reaction.you will pay dearly for it.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Putin brought this on Russia. The war may come to an end, but in Russia this is going to continue until the regime falls. Supporters of Putin have only themselves to blame.

From a volunteer currently working in Ukraine, when asked about the explosion on the bridge ;

One immediately observable result from the bombing was that there were only happy faces today in every Ukrainian city, town, and village.

It was an enormous blow to Russia’s self-esteem. They know now that there’s no place for them in the temporarily occupied territories where they are safe. Ukraine can and will get them.

Desert Tortoise - perfect example.

The bridge which Western Media reported "had collapsed", "was blown up", "was destroyed"... was miraculously repaired by Russian engineers overnight and now is open to traffic again.

That bridge is not structurally sound. You can find multiple videos showing the span engulfed from all sides in intense fire. Also look carefully at some photos of the supports that support the bridge underneath the burning tank cars. They are not parallel any more like the others are. From experience with gasoline tanker fires on LA area freeways, a fire like that will burn through concrete as well as weaken the steel rebar inside that concrete. It may look ok but it isn't. There was a tanker fire on the MacArthur Maze in Oakland that burned right through a concrete and steel highway overpass. Same thing with a tanker fire under a freeway bridge in LA on Hwy 60. That bridge had to come down and be replaced. I was looking at video taken by cars going over the remaining span of the auto bridge and the railroad bridge is not sound. But for the sake of pride the Russians will bless it as good to go and take their chances.

The bridge was badly damaged so was Putin's pride and ego coming on his birthday.

you will pay dearly for it.

Yes, we will invade your country.

oh yeh, we tried that.

Ok, we will bomb & destroy your civilian infrastructure.

oh yeh, we’ve done that already.

right, we shall rape & murder your women & children.

damn, we’ve done that already too.

let me get back to you on how exactly you will pay dearly

Light traffic only on the bridge.

The power lines to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station were shelled leaving the plant to run on emergency generators.

Russia really needs to plan smart and start hitting the Ukrainian supply lines

could further cloud Kremlin messages of reassurance that the conflict is going to plan.

With the reported numbers of Russians leaving Russia, and even protesting against Putin's war, along with all the advances made by Russian engineers and scientists, it's apparent there are lot of intelligent Russians, many of whom probably have probably long believed Putin's war is not "going to plan". However, many non-Russians, including western media outlets and their followers, seem to have swallowed Putin's propaganda. Russian state media know their audience, which includes highly suggestible westerners, among them many who want a putative strongman like Putin to control their lives and more importantly slay their enemies, real and imagined. Despots like Putin know it's easier to keep their followers in line by creating enemies, he tried portraying Zelensky and Ukrainians as Nazis, which most reasonable people quickly recognized was Qanon level quackery.

Bronco

Anytime an attack is conducted in unmarked civilian vehicles by people who are in civilian clothes it's terrorism.

I would humbly suggest that wearing a uniform would likely give the game away.

Bronco

The bridge which Western Media reported "had collapsed", "was blown up", "was destroyed"... was miraculously repaired by Russian engineers overnight and now is open to traffic again.

Ha ha, yeah, right. Don't believe everything you see on the internet.

I've been waiting for months for the Ukrainians to send a message via the Kerch Bridge and in the end they timed it as a belated birthday present for the Kremlin crime boss. Nice! And who is so foolish to think that will be the last bomb to hit Putin's prestige bridge (from Ukraine with love)?

Let’s not jump to conclusions here - Ukraine hasn’t taken responsibility for this attack.

Apparently a Russian soldier was seen smoking nearby

In war, troops wear their uniforms covered with civilian clothes when on a sabotage mission. Special ops wear civilian clothes.

I am still waiting to find out the identity of the driver and where the trailer he was pulling was loaded. The driver may not have even know he had a bomb behind him. If however the driver turns out to be a suicide bomber I would more strongly suspect a Tartar, Chechen or Dagestani than a Ukrainian.

A video of the inspection of the trailer before it entered the Kerch Bridge shows at best a cursory visual inspection around the exterior, opening a read door of the trailer for a quick look inside, close the door and the driver soon departs. No evidence the truck went through any kind of electronic screening, though it might have occurred before the driver stopped for the exterior inspection.

The bridge which Western Media reported "had collapsed", "was blown up", "was destroyed"... was miraculously repaired by Russian engineers overnight and now is open to traffic again.

False !

we’re not talking about Lego blocks here.

A 100m section of the bridge collapsed into the sea.

And there aren’t any decent engineers left in Russia who are capable of fixing it overnight.

How do you know it was even a Ukrainian that did this? It could easily be a Russian opposed to the war. Putin's special operation has killed so many on both sides, there's bound to be a lot of angry people.

Yes, but this is a cowardly thing to do and specifically forbidden as per the Geneva Convention.

If you want to fight, put on a uniform to fairly identify yourself as a combatant.

The separatists are actually mostly civilians but they are required to don military fatigues and put Z clearly on their equipment to identify themselves (to the other side) that they are not civilians and are combatants.

Military soldiers who remove their uniforms and pretend to be civilians and then attack are not only immoral but total cowards.

Military soldiers who remove their uniforms and pretend to be civilians and then attack are not only immoral but total cowards.

Was the bridge crossing Crimea river?

Yes, but this is a cowardly thing to do and specifically forbidden as per the Geneva Convention.

Lobbing missiles into apartment buildings full of civilians from afar is a far more cowardly act which also violates international law, yet you seem to enjoy cheering that on because the Russians are the ones doing it,

Excellent news.

Another blow to fascist Russia and shaky little Mini-me. Just as they failed in Afghanistan, Russia cannot win this war.

You’ve violently entered your neighbor’s home and killed, raped and looted while in it. Just get out and stop crying about having to leave empty handed. You should have never done it in the first place. Even animals behave better than this.

Bronco

If you want to fight, put on a uniform to fairly identify yourself as a combatant

And should spies reveal their identity? Seems only fair.

I doubt it was Russia firing missiles into the apartment building .

You refer to believe Ukraine is wantonly killing its own people?

Or should i just believe everything i read.

No, just carry on believing what Lord Vlademort keeps telling you, he has no reason to lie.

...has he?

According to a Russian State media press release today, there was NO explosion - this was merely some small sparks from the Russian flagship Moskva scraping along the bridges side...as it goes for port-calls in Crimea...

Any pictures showing the bridge spans in the water and the rail line in flames are just poor CGI created by Disney for US and European disinformation efforts....

The press release further states that Russia is "winning" the special military operation, and Putin is a military genius - and quoted one former western leader as praising Putin for being "smart" and "very savvy"...

Russia is most certainly and definitely planning retaliation .

Wow - read my comment above regarding this

I doubt it was Russia firing missiles into the apartment building

@ I doubt it was Ukraine who blew up the bridge

Can anyone prove it was Russia ?

it had ‘made in Russia’ written on the missile

Or should i just believe everything i read.

sounds like you believe everything you read in the Moscow Times

It is equally plausible that the explosion could have been a result of Russian incompetence. A lot of that has been shown on the Russian side since this conflict started.

With all the "ass-whoopings" the Russians have been receiving lately, it would be less embarrassing to blame "Ukrainian terrorists" than to admit incompetence. Also, there are Russian sympathizers or people who hate Putin enough to assist the Ukrainians in winning this conflict. They would do anything to strike a blow against Putin.

No matter what, the Ukrainians retaking Crimea will be epic!

@bronco

this is a cowardly thing to do and specifically forbidden as per the Geneva Convention.

but intentionally destroying a country’s infrastructure & targeting civilian homes, raping & murdering women & children, & torturing people is not cowardly ?

You might want to reread the Geneva convention

"But there will be problems with logistics for Crimea," he added in a social media post.

Apparently a lot of panic buying in Crimea at the moment. The civilian logistics will pile up on the military logistics.

Numan

It is equally plausible that the explosion could have been a result of Russian incompetence. A lot of that has been shown on the Russian side since this conflict started.

Sure. But have you seen the video? Sure looks intentional.

No matter what, the Ukrainians retaking Crimea will be epic!

Hopefully the Russians can fix the bridge in time to allow for a hasty retreat.

Prelude to re-conquest of Crimea for Ukraine. Leading to Exit Putin.

Contrary to MSM narrative stitching, the mood in the Kremlin is rather upbeat today.

Are you in there? Can you live stream? Say hi to Vlad.

“ Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Kyiv's reaction to the destruction of civilian infrastructure "testifies to its terrorist nature". “

..

Stephen King

( a few minutes ago ) :

“ After nine months of killing and in many cases torturing civilians; after razing whole towns; the Russians call blowing up a bridge "terrorism." That takes the f ing cake. “

Rodney

so the Ukraine civilians killed by Putin, thousands of them, are not also innocent. Russia is the invader and aggressor. Guess you did not get the memo.

The bridge which the BBC reported "had collapsed" has miraculously uncollapsed and traffic is moving across it again.

This direct quote from Russian sources is fantastic news.

Bronco

This attack only emphasizes that NATO is too weak and cowardly to face Russia directly on the battlefield in soldier to soldier combat like real men.

Like the real men who murdered and raped women and children and threw them into mass graves. Tortured others and threw them into mass graves.

Do you want WW3?

NATO knows Russia would wipe the floor with them in that contest so the only way they can strike Russia is to dress up as truck drivers and hit civilian bridges with suicide bombs.

This is more likely to be the Russian NRA than it is NATO. But tell yourself whatever you want.

How could it possible be WW3 when the western MSM claims that the Russian army has run out of munitions, tanks, has no trucks, no more missiles, it's soldiers are either dead or unwilling to fight and Russian men all refuse to be conscripted.

Because the nuclear threat is still there and we already know Putin is insane and backed far enough into a corner to use it. WW3 will not be a war like previous world wars.

Bronco

Do you want WW3?

How could it possible be WW3 when the western MSM claims that the Russian army has run out of munitions, tanks, has no trucks, no more missiles, it's soldiers are either dead or unwilling to fight and Russian men all refuse to be conscripted.

Sure. But nobody said anything about nukes. He still has plenty of those.

How could it possible be WW3 when the western MSM claims that the Russian army has run out of munitions, tanks, has no trucks, no more missiles, it's soldiers are either dead or unwilling to fight and Russian men all refuse to be conscripted.

They aren't claiming that at all, so your strawman arguement is invalid. You're sounding desperate.

Why are the combined armies of 30 NATO countries afraid to face an army that is in "complete disarray"?

Again, they aren't. This isn't a NATO war no matter how much you want it to be. If Putun wants a NATO war, he simply has to invade a NATO country. Is he too scared to do that? You betcha ass he is.

Putin is angry with the losses by his troops he fired two generals. He has fired more than 10 generals. 20 have been killed.

The two Russian generals commanding the Army Group South and Army Group Centre were fired.  General Alexander Lapin and General Sergei Surovikin

The sacking of General Surovikin would be a further humiliation for Mr Putin as Moscow inflated his reputation as a victor in the Syria conflict when he took over the Ukraine post in early summer.

Vladimir Putin has fired the general charged with managing the Russian military's faltering logistics operations in Ukraine. Gen Dmitry Bulgakov, a deputy defense minister, was removed from his role and replaced by Col Gen Mikhail Mizintsev, who managed Moscow's brutal siege at the port city of Mariupol.

This attack only emphasizes that NATO is too weak and cowardly to face Russia directly on the battlefield in soldier to soldier combat like real men.

Real men don’t need bold font.

intentional use of civilian clothing to conceal military identity during battle.”

If he was driving a truck on a bridge he wasn’t in battle. Let’s say he was an undercover spy operative. What does the Geneva convention say about those?

Get googling chum.

Bob FosseToday  11:04 am JST

If he was driving a truck on a bridge he wasn’t in battle. Let’s say he was an undercover spy operative. What does the Geneva convention say about those?

Military forces don't drive on bridges in battle?

That's a new one.

Military forces don't drive on bridges in battle?

That's a new one.

According to bronco he was waved onto the bridge by Russian troops.

In the midst of battle was it?

Wow, then they really are that inept.

It’s pitiful that some posters still pretend to support Russia to get attention.

Bronco

The Putin referendum is illegal according to the Geneva convention.

It’s pitiful that some posters still pretend to support Russia to get attention

It reminds me of a drunk stumbling around at closing time looking for someone to fight with but would back off if anyone took the bait.

A bit like a Russian soldier.

@Bronco

It wasn't a truck bomb. Special Forces operation - perfectly legit to anyone other than the Russian state. Watch the attack video in slow motion - the camera shows shock distortion before the truck disappears in flames. NATO is not scared of a conventional Russian onslaught, less so now the Russian armed forces have had a calamitous campaign and have now lost 40% of the total stock of Main Battle Tanks.

Putin has the largest number of tactical nuclear weapons, about 2,000 of them kept in warehouses which the west is watching very closely for any movements.

Russian law enforcement has identified Samir Yusubov, 25, from the Krasnodar region in Russia, as the alleged owner of the red-coloured International Prostar truck, which, according to investigators, exploded on the Crimean Bridge. They are still investigating who was driving the truck when it exploded.

Russian propaganda had claimed the Crimean bridge was impossible to attack because of 20 different kinds of security protecting it, including military dolphins.

This attack only emphasizes that NATO is too weak and cowardly to face Russia directly on the battlefield in soldier to soldier combat like real men.

The Putin fanboy arguments are getting further and further strained as reality closes in.

Best to just let them continue spewing this nonsense, it only hurts their cause.

Fight to last Russian and Ukrainain,who cares,the world is tired of both sides,it time too move on

Fight to last Russian and Ukrainain,who cares,the world is tired of both sides,it time too move on

You don’t speak for the world.

Best stick to your own opinion which will be dismissed by serious people.

Maybe it was carried out by little green men with no insignia.

Russia took Crimea in 2014 using infiltrations of men and equipment with no markings. These were dubbed ‘little green men’ by the world. Whether they were special Putin Wagner operatives or not we may never know.

Who blew up the Kerch Bridge and how, have not yet been determined. Two spans of the motorway on one side are down in the waters. Light traffic in controlled groups of 10 vehicles every 30 minutes are being allowed to cross on the surviving side.

Russia used thermobaric bombs which Ukraine does not have.