An explosion on Saturday, October 8TH, 2022, triggered the collapse of part of the bridge between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, dealing a major blow to a symbol of Russian control in the region and endangering the Kremlin’s dwindling war effort in southern Ukraine.
The three deaths from the explosion were first blamed on nothing specific. Crimea’s regional parliament speaker blamed Ukraine, but Moscow didn’t agree with his assessment. Over and over, Ukrainian officials vowed to destroy the bridge, and some even cheered its destruction on Saturday. However, Kyiv refrained from making any accusations of guilt.
Russian authorities have blamed a truck bomb for the explosion, raising the prospect of a significant escalation in the country’s eight-month war. Some Russian lawmakers have called on President Vladimir Putin to proclaim a “counterterrorism operation,” replacing the term “special military operation” that had underestimated the extent of fighting to regular Russians.
The Russian federal Security firm, the FSB, will be in charge of bolstering the safety of the bridge and energy infrastructure connecting Russia and Crimea, per a decision signed by Putin late on Saturday.
A government panel has been established to handle this issue. Reports also indicate that Russian President Putin was briefed on the explosion.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) will be responsible for bolstering the bridge’s security of and the infrastructure bringing natural gas and electricity to the peninsula, Putin decreed hours after the bomb, as reported by Interfax.
Oleksiy Danilov, who is the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, posted a clip of the bridge as it burned on social networks along with a video of Marilyn Monroe wishing the president a happy birthday. Putin turned 70 on Friday. The Ukrainian government celebrated the occurrence but did not claim responsibility.
