The Russian authorities are downplaying the blast damage to the Crimean Bridge, but British intelligence experts are certain that the bridge can now handle significantly less traffic than before. The presumably intentional explosion is likely to offend Russia’s President Putin.
According to British experts, the explosion on the bridge between Russia and the annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea has significantly reduced the capacity of the road connection. Two of the four lanes collapsed over a length of 250 meters. The other two tracks would probably be used again, according to the British Ministry of Defense’s daily intelligence update on the Ukraine war.
It is unclear how badly the adjacent rail link is damaged, “but any major disruption to its capacity will most likely have a significant impact on Russia’s already strained ability to resupply its forces in southern Ukraine,” the statement said. The bridge played a key role in moving heavy military vehicles to the southern front during the invasion.
According to British experts, the incident may have affected Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin personally. “It came hours after his 70th birthday, he had personally sponsored and opened the bridge and the contractor in charge was his childhood friend Arkady Rotenberg,” the statement said. Putin’s former bodyguard, the current commander of the Russian National Guard, Viktor Solotov, has repeatedly assured in recent months that the bridge is safe.
Russian officials announced after the explosion that repairs to the damaged sections would begin immediately. Divers should also assess possible underground damage. The Russian authorities tried to downplay the impact of the damage to the structure of high strategic and symbolic importance. According to Russian information, car and train traffic over the bridge has already been resumed. The long-distance passenger trains between Russia and Crimea ran on Sunday “according to the normal timetable”. According to the Crimean head of administration Sergei Askjonov, who was appointed by Russia, it should be checked whether buses can also drive over the bridge again. First, people who wanted to go to Russia from Crimea could use ferries, he said.
The British Ministry of Defense has published daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine at the end of February, citing intelligence information. In doing so, the British government wants to both counter the Russian portrayal and keep allies in line. Moscow accuses London of a targeted disinformation campaign
