On Saturday morning, the Kerch Strait bridge between Crimea and the Russian mainland was severely damaged by a large explosion.
Russia began construction of the bridge in 2016, two years after Russian forces invaded the Crimean peninsula, which is part of Ukraine according to internationally recognized borders.
In 2014, Crimea was incorporated into the Russian Federation and has practically functioned as part of Russia ever since.
warns
In an interview with Telegraph warns Britain’s first chief of defense, Lord Richard Dannatt, that Putin will personally take the attack on the bridge.
Building attacked: – At least 17 dead
Dannatt believes the blast has increased the threat of Putin using nuclear weapons to a significant extent.
He also believes Putin will retaliate by carrying out new attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian-controlled areas of Ukraine, as well as measures that will create “great economic damage and damage the unity of the West”.
sea View
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the blast, but several Ukrainian officials have hinted that it was due to an attack by the Ukrainian side.
Prestisjebru
The The Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda quoted anonymous sources from the country’s security service SBU that the explosion is due to their planned attack.
The Kerch Bridge is the largest bridge in Europe and its construction cost several tens of billions of crowns.
Showing the destruction
The bridge is one of the largest infrastructure projects that the Russians have carried out in modern times and, according to experts, very prestigious for Putin.
– The bridge was a prestige project for Putin. When it opened in 2018, it sat in the first carriage, Ukrainian expert and retired Lieutenant General Arne Bård Dalhaug told Dagbladet on Saturday.
– Large amount of explosives
It is not known why the bridge exploded, but experts believe it must have been due to an attack, and that this probably came from the Ukrainian side.
– It must be a large amount of explosives, here we are probably talking about several tons. Questions are now being raised about how this got on the bridge. There is assumed to be some control there, Dalhaug told Dagbladet.
– I thought the bridge couldn’t be attacked
The alleged Ukrainian attack is causing a stir, not least because it took place so deep in the territory controlled by Russia.
– Today the Ukrainians manage to attack, destroy the bridge and the train with supplies, something the Russians believed they had control over, Dalhaug says.
– Now Putin looks very stupid.
