Crimea Bridge Truck Bomb Disrupts Key Russian Supply Route; 3 Dead

A truck bomb severely damaged the only bridge linking the occupied Crimean Peninsula with Russia’s mainland, disrupting a key supply route for Russian forces.

Summary

A truck bomb severely damaged the only bridge linking the occupied Crimean Peninsula with Russia’s mainland, disrupting a key supply route for Russian forces.

• The huge blast killed three people in a car after the truck exploded and nearby oil tankers caught fire.
• The 12-mile bridge spanning the Kerch Strait was built in 2018 and is a critical transportation link for Russian forces occupying south and southeastern Ukraine.
• Footage of the bridge explosion has gone viral in Ukraine. The bombing “is already being compared to the sinking of the Russian warship Moskva in April.”
• Russian authorities later announced they had partially re-opened the bridge hours after the blast.
• The strike on the critical Russian supply route came one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 70^th birthday.

• The Guardian wrote the “impact of the Kerch bridge blast will be felt all the way to the Kremlin.” The bridge represented “the jewel in the crown of Vladimir Putin’s infrastructure projects” and Russian media nicknamed it the “construction of the century.”
• The New York Times reported that Russian focus on the war in Ukraine is weakening Russian “domination” of Central Asia and the Caucasus countries. Several border conflicts have broken out this year and Russian distraction has created an opportunity for China.
• Per CNN, the Ukrainian postal service announced it would issue new stamps commemorating the Kerch bridge explosion.

• The Washington Examiner noted the Ukrainian defense ministry responded to the bombing with a Twitter taunt. They wrote, “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?”
• The Wall Street Journal reported on the American-supplied Himars – the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System – Ukraine is using to create “a global revolution in warfare” with “the capacity to change battlefields far from Eastern Europe.”
• National Review shared a tweet from a top Ukrainian official mocking Russia after the explosion. He shared a video of Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy Birthday Mr. President” next to footage of the burning bridge as Friday was Putin’s 70^th birthday.

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© Dominic Moore, 2022