A strong explosion damages the Kerch bridge linking Russia with Crimea

The Kerch bridge, one of the main connection routes between Russia and Crimea, was the scene of a huge truck explosion early this Saturday, which caused the fire of seven fuel tanks of a train that was moving in the direction of the annexed Ukrainian peninsula and partially damaged the infrastructure, according to the Russian National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC) reported today.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
08 October 2022 Saturday 00:30
12 Reads
A strong explosion damages the Kerch bridge linking Russia with Crimea

The Kerch bridge, one of the main connection routes between Russia and Crimea, was the scene of a huge truck explosion early this Saturday, which caused the fire of seven fuel tanks of a train that was moving in the direction of the annexed Ukrainian peninsula and partially damaged the infrastructure, according to the Russian National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC) reported today.

According to the Russian agency TASS, "there was a partial collapse of two sections of the automobile part of the bridge." The arch over the navigable part was not damaged. The NAC stressed that the circumstances of the explosion are being clarified.

According to preliminary data from the adviser to the Governor of Crimea, Oleg Kryuchkov, there have been no injuries or deaths.

Rail and car traffic have been suspended on the bridge and work has started to launch a ferry service across the Kerch Strait, according to Acting Transport Minister Nikolai Lukahsneko, according to TASS.

Navigation in the strait has not been interrupted at the moment, assured the Federal Agency for Maritime Transport and Inland Waters (Rosmorrechflot).

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the creation of a government commission, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov. "In connection with the emergency at the Crimean bridge, Vladimir Putin received reports from Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov, and Transport Minister Gennadi Saveliev, as well as from heads of law enforcement agencies," he said, according to the RIA Nóvosti news agency.

He explained that Putin instructed the prime minister to set up a commission "to find out the causes of the incident and eliminate the consequences as soon as possible."

It will also include the heads of the Krasnodar Territory and Crimea, representatives of the National Guard, the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Saveliev and Kurenkov left for the scene, Peskov added.

The adviser to the Governor of Crimea in turn warned that "a lot of false enemy information" about the incident is circulating, for which he asked only to pay attention to "official information".

For the Kremlin, an attack on the Crimean bridge would be a red line that would not allow it to pass without a response, as they have repeated on several occasions from the Presidency and the Ministry of Defense.

In May 2018, Putin inaugurated the automobile section of the Crimean bridge over the Kerch Strait, the longest in Europe with its 19 kilometers, in order to break the isolation of the peninsula.

At the end of 2019, the railway section over the bridge was also inaugurated, condemned by both Ukraine and the West, which continue to consider the peninsula part of Ukrainian territory.

The Kerch Bridge, also known simply as the Crimean Bridge, is considered to be an important logistics supply route for Russian forces in Crimea and southern Russian-occupied Ukraine. The structure, 19 kilometers long, includes a rail transport route and a motorway and its construction cost 3,000 million euros.