Explosion on the Crimean Bridge. The main thing for Saturday evening

On October 8, at about 6 o'clock in the morning, a truck exploded on the Crimean bridge. Due to the explosion, several fuel tanks of the train, which passed along the tracks parallel to the road, caught fire.

Road and rail traffic on the bridge was closed. Aviation was called in to put out the fire. As a result of the explosion, two spans of one of the two road lanes of the bridge collapsed.

Later, the UK reported that three people were killed in the explosion. Presumably, these are the passengers of a car that was driving next to the exploded truck. The bodies of two of them - a man and a woman - were recovered from the water, their identities are being established.

Samir Yusupov, a resident of Krasnodar, turned out to be the owner of the exploded truck. Searches were carried out at his home and those of his relatives. Later, a video appeared on the network in which Samir Yusupov said that his uncle Makhir Yusupov used his truck. He was also identified in a video of the truck being inspected by the traffic police before entering the bridge, which was leaked to the net.

According to RBC, citing its own source in law enforcement agencies, the driver of the exploded truck probably did not know that his car was mined.

Immediately after the explosion, the authorities of the annexed Crimea imposed restrictions on the sale of food and fuel, but they were lifted a few hours later.

According to the head of the annexed Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, after four o'clock in the afternoon, car traffic was resumed along the surviving strip of the bridge, but only for cars and buses. All vehicles go through a full inspection procedure, so the police only allow about 20 cars per hour.

The trucks were offered to use the ferry service, which started working a few hours later. Large lines of cars quickly formed on both sides of the crossing.

In addition, Aksyonov asked the hoteliers and heads of the resorts of the peninsula to extend the stay of vacationers whose term of stay is expiring. He promised to compensate for all costs at the expense of the region. According to ATOR, there are now about 50,000 tourists in Crimea.

In the All-Russian Union of Insurers, the damage from the explosion was tentatively estimated at 250-500 million rubles. A criminal case has been opened on the fact of undermining the bridge.

The reaction of Russian and Ukrainian authorities

Several Ukrainian media, citing sources in law enforcement agencies, reported that the explosion was a special operation by the SBU. The Ukrainian intelligence service itself refused to comment on this information. Later, The Washington Post, citing its own source in the Ukrainian government, also wrote that the Ukrainian intelligence services were behind the explosion.

The press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said that Vladimir Putin did not intend to address the nation in connection with the blowing up of the Crimean bridge, but ordered the creation of a special commission to investigate the incident. He also signed a decree on strengthening measures to protect the transport crossing through the Kerch Strait, the electric grid energy bridge and the main gas pipeline. The Kremlin did not give any other official comments in connection with the explosion.

Meduza obtained instructions on the “correct” coverage of the explosion on the Crimean Bridge, sent to the Russian state media from the presidential administration.

As follows from the "manual", reporting on what happened should focus on the fact that "the bridge was not destroyed, but only the canvas on the road and railway parts was damaged." It should also be reported that preparations for restoration work have already begun, the Ministry of Transport has launched new logistics routes, and the Kerch ferry has already started working.

Several Ukrainian officials reacted to the explosion. The following message appeared on the Twitter of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine: “The Moskva missile cruiser and the Kerch Bridge, two infamous symbols of Russian power in the Ukrainian Crimea, have disappeared. What's next, Russians?

In turn, Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov tweeted a video of the burning Crimean bridge combined with the famous recording of Marilyn Monroe, who performs the song “Happy birthday, mister President”. The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin turned 70 years old.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, tweeted that the explosion on the Crimean bridge was only the "beginning". At the same time, he later wrote that the explosion could have been organized by the Russians and that it could be the result of a behind-the-scenes confrontation between the Ministry of Defense and the FSB.

Sources: Baza , Mash , The Washington Post , Mikhail Podolyak , TASS , Alexey Danilov , Sergey Aksenov , RF IC , Kommersant , Meduza , RBC

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