Crimea bridge partly reopens after huge explosion – Russia

Hours after a large bomb destroyed portions of the road, light traffic has once again started to flow across Russia’s only bridge to the Crimea.

According to investigators, three persons were killed in the explosion on Europe’s longest bridge, which served as a symbol of Russia’s annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Russian authorities assert that the victims were in a neighbouring automobile when a lorry exploded.

The bridge’s railway portion, where oil tanks caught fire, has reportedly also been reopened. After authorities announced the restricted reopening, video showed vehicles using the road.

2018 saw the opening of the rail and road crossing, which is a crucial supply route for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a counsellor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, did not expressly attribute blame to Ukraine but wrote: “Crimea, the bridge, the beginning.

Everything that is illegal must be destroyed, everything that has been taken must be given back to Ukraine, and everything that Russia has captured must be evicted.

The explosion on the bridge was compared by the Ukrainian defence ministry to the April sinking of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva.

Two infamous Russian power symbols in Ukrainian Crimea have been destroyed, it tweeted. “What comes after that?”

The official Twitter account of Ukraine simply wrote, “Sick burn.”

The response of the Kiev administration to the destruction of civilian infrastructure, according to Russia’s foreign ministry, “is a witness to its terrorist nature.”

The symbolism and impact of seeing the bridge, which President Putin opened, on fire cannot be overstated.  The bridge has been utilised by Russia to transport soldiers, military supplies, and equipment to battlegrounds in southern Ukraine.

In light of their commitment to retaking the peninsula, Ukrainian authorities claimed it to be a valid target. Any assault on Crimea, where there is a sizable Russian force presence, will be viewed as a further grave humiliation for the Kremlin. Ukrainians particularly detest the bridge. One day after Russian President Vladimir Putin turned 70, the fire sparked an uproar on Ukrainian social media.

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