Russia suffers huge blow with Crimean bridge explosion
The only bridge connecting the occupied Crimean peninsula and Russia has been engulfed in flames this morning, following reports of an explosion.
The explosion has taken out huge sections of road which have fallen into the Kerch Strait.
Russia confirmed a large fire across the road and rail crossing, with officials saying it was caused by a lorry explosion.
Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee said: “At 06:07 Moscow time today [03:07 GMT], an explosion was set off at a cargo vehicle on the motorway part of the Crimean bridge on the side of the Taman peninsula, which set fire to seven fuel tanks of a train that was en route to the Crimean peninsula.
“Two motorway sections of the bridge partially collapsed.”
Traffic has now been suspended, with the number of potential casualties still unconfirmed.
Footage suggests that a blast on the road section led to oil tankers on the rail section catching fire, before the road underneath collapsed.
Crimea was annexed in 2014 by Russia, which has been using the Kerch bridge to move military equipment into Ukraine to bolster its invasion.
Ukraine makes no direct claim of responsibility for bridge destruction
The explosive developments follow weeks of successful counter-offensives in Ukraine, with the country regaining thousands of square miles of territory.
It also prompted gleeful messages from Ukrainian officials, however no one has directly claim of responsibility.
The official Twitter account of the Ukraine government responded to the fire by tweeting: “Sick burn.”
An adviser to Ukraine’s President Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, called the damage a “beginning.”
“Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, Crimean parliamentary speaker Vladimir Kontantinov blamed the explosion on “Ukrainian vandals, who have finally managed to reach their bloody hands to the Crimean bridge”.
He expected that the bridge would be “promptly restored” as the damage was “not of a serious nature”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been briefed about the “emergency” on the bridge and has ordered a government inquiry, revealed Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The 12-mile bridge across the Kerch Strait was opened by President Vladimir Putin in 2018, four years after Russia illegally invaded and annexed Crimea.
The crossing is more than 100 miles from Ukrainian-held territory.
It was considered a target for Ukrainian forces, which have been attacking Russian logistics including the Tomkak depot on the east-west rail line from Luhansk to Kherson.
There is growing speculation of a Ukrainian offensive to regain the city of Melitopol from the Russians.
The city sits in the middle of the rail line, and would be essential to supplying Crimea if the bridge is out of action for a sustained period of time .