“Videos of the damaged Crimean Bridge spread on social media like wildfire”states at BBC on its website. And, on the Ukrainian side, this act of sabotage – carried out by the Ukrainian secret service (SBU), according to Censor.net – is already compared with the strike, which in April sank the Russian warship in the Black Sea Moscow.
A truck bomb exploded shortly after 6 a.m. (7 a.m. Paris time) this Saturday, October 8. Its explosion set fire to tank cars filled with fuel from a train crossing the Kerch Strait on the railway part of the bridge. As of 9:40 a.m., the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense did not hide its joy on Twitter: “The missile cruiser Moksva and the Kerch Bridge – two notorious symbols of Russian power in Ukrainian Crimea – are missing. Hey Russkofs, what’s next?
An avalanche of memes celebrating the operation has begun to sweep across social media, resumes the BBC. Monobank, the second largest Ukrainian bank, “said he already issued a credit card with an image of the collapsed bridge”. When the Post Office jumped at the chance to announce the issue of a stamp depicting the explosion, reports the site Ukrainian News which reproduces the painting made by Yurii Shapoval. “Never have we had such a beautiful morning, commented Ihor Smilianskyi, the director of the Post on his Telegram account, quoted by Ukrainian Truth. We are going to issue a new stamp with the Crimean Bridge or, more precisely, what is left of it.”
The partial destruction of the 19 km long bridge occurs the day after the 70e birthday of Vladimir Putin. What Oleksii Danilov, secretary of the Ukrainian National Security Council, did not fail to point out in a video shared on Facebook in which he juxtaposes the images of the burning bridge and the famous “Happy birthday Mr President” by Marilyn Monroe.
“The feeling of excitement is palpable”resume the BBC. Especially since this explosion comes at a time when the Ukrainian counter-offensives, carried out for several weeks, are crowned with success. Kyiv’s troops thus recaptured many territories seized by Russia in February and March.
In addition to the strength of the symbol, the destruction of the bridge, built quickly after the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, will considerably handicap the logistics of the Russian army. And in particular the supply of its units engaged in fighting in southern Ukraine, including the Kherson region.
The menaces of Dmitri Medvedev
In Ukraine, some are nevertheless worried about the consequences that the sabotage of the Crimean bridge could have. In Zaporizhia, the target of Russian strikes, residents believe they were targeted in retaliation for recent setbacks by the Russian army. After the explosion this morning, emphasizes the BBCthey fear more bombardments.
And many refer to the threats brandished by former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. In April, recalled by The Guardian, he said:
“A Ukrainian general spoke of the need to strike the Crimean bridge. I hope he understands what the retaliation will be.”
Before being even more threatening in July, wrote then The Asia Times. At the prospect of the deployment of Himars multiple rocket launchers to support the counter-offensive on Kherson, he had not hesitated to threaten the Ukrainians “judgment Day” if they dared to attack Crimea, a clear reference to the use of nuclear weapons.