A truck explosion hit a Crimea-bound train carrying seven fuel tanks. The structure is considered the symbol of the annexation of the peninsula, in 2014. It was built by a friend of President Putin, who inaugurated a section in 2018.
The crimean bridgethe road symbol of the Russian annexation of this Ukrainian province, in 2014, ended partially destroyed after an explosion this Saturday.
Specifically, a truck caught fire, which reached seven fuel tanks carried by a train bound for Crimea.
As a result, two car spans on the bridge partially collapsed.
The Crimean Bridge was built by the company of businessman Arkadi Rottenberg, a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Union of Insurers of Russia estimated the damage caused to the Crimean bridge between 200 and 500 million rubles (US$3.2 million and US$8.1 million dollars), according to the RIA Nóvosti agency.
The infrastructure cost about US$3.5 billion at the time.
In May 2018, Putin inaugurated the automobile section of the Crimean bridge over the Kerch Strait, the longest in Europe with 19 kilometersin order to break the isolation of the peninsula.
At the end of 2019, the railway section of the bridge was also inaugurated, condemned by both Ukraine and the West, which continue to consider the peninsula part of Ukrainian territory.
Upon hearing the news, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry called the Crimean bridge a notorious “symbol of Russian power” and at the same time asked “what was next?”
For its part, the Ukrainian air forces reported on their Telegram account the “destruction” of the bridge.
“The fuel tanks are on fire. Part of the road was also destroyed! It will all be Ukraine!” they said in the message.
The guided missile cruiser Moskva and the Kerch Bridge – two notorious symbols of russian power in Ukrainian Crimea – have gone down.
What’s next in line, russkies?— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) October 8, 2022
Ukraine today celebrated the damage caused to a part of the Crimean bridge by a fuel tank fire this morning, according to statements collected by the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.