Jul 17: The Kerch Bridge is falling down

Explosions were heard at 3:20 a.m. in the vicinity

Kerch Bridge is falling down

Source: The Grey Zone

The attack on the Crimean bridge is a special operation of the SBU and the Navy, - RBC Ukraine. "The bridge was attacked with surface drones. It was difficult to get to the bridge, but in the end it was possible to do so," the source reportedly said. Ukraine’s security services published a cryptic poem in which it appeared to claim responsibility for Monday’s incident:

"Nightingale, my dear brother, Again the bridge went to "sleep" And once... Twice! PS The music is folk. The words are SBU," the message of the Security Service of Ukraine reads.

SBU spokesman Artem Dekhtiarenko said: “We are watching with interest as one of the symbols of Putin’s regime once again failed to withstand the military load.”

Mikhailo Podolyak: “Any illegal structures used to deliver Russian instruments of mass murder are necessarily short-lived... regardless of the reasons for the destruction.”

Three explosions rocked the Crimean Bridge. Locals are asked to “refrain from traveling across the Crimean bridge” and “choose an alternative land route,” the Russia-installed governor of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said on Telegram on Monday morning, adding that “an emergency situation” had occurred on the bridge’s 145th pillar.

Importance of the Crimean Peninsula and Bridge

Volodymyr Saldo, head of the Russian Kherson military-civilian administration called the attack on the Crimean bridge an act of 'vandalism' but was ready to pass the flow of people through the occupied part of the Kherson region.

“The peninsula is used by the Russians as a large logistical hub for moving forces and assets deep into the territory of Ukraine. Of course, any logistical problems are additional complications for the occupiers.”

Andriy Yusov, Ukrainian military intelligence

Crimea’s warm water port at Sevastopol is strategically important to Russia, as its other ports freeze over winter. Sevastopol is a key port for maritime routes between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara in Turkey, and by extension the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Covert Russian forces invaded the peninsula in an operation in 2014, and held an illegal referendum, annexing Crimea.

Crucially, it also gives Moscow a platform to project its air and naval might further across Europe.

Based on images of the bridge, there appears to be explosive damage underneath the road surface and to the support structures, says Stuart Ray at McKenzie Intelligence. He suggests either a drone or ship laden with explosives, or a small special forces team, could have been responsible.

The damage is not very extensive, he says, although there are stress fractures that will likely compromise the integrity of the bridge and take time to repair.

The collapse of the bridge will affect Russia’s military logistics in the southern front lines because most of the military supplies, including munitions, arrive on the southern front via the bridge. There are no other ways to reinforce the troops in the southern front either. The Russians will have to redirect the flow of supplies to the only route available in the south, which goes through Mariupol, Berdiansk, and Melitopol.

The ‘Crimean authorities’ have said that they will have the bridge repaired within a month as they claim that there were no structural damages. During this time vehicles will be transported by ferries, and trucks will take a detour.

Russian state television aired a map of the route, which goes through occupied Melitopol to the port of Mariupol and ends in the southern Russian city of Rostov.

Russian official statements

FM spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has claimed US and British intelligence services provided assistance to Kyiv to cause collapse of a span of the Kerch Bridge last night.

Zakharova described Ukraine's government as having "all the hallmarks of an international organised crime group". "Decisions are made by Ukrainian officials and the military with the direct participation of American and British intelligence agencies and politicians. The US and Britain are in charge of a terrorist state structure."

Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said:

If a western origin of the surface drones that attacked the bridge, as well as a role of western countries in planning, sponsoring and carrying out this operation, is revealed, this will confirm their complicity in the terrorist activities of the Kyiv regime.

Russian Investigative Committee gathering evidence on Kerch Bridge. The video allows for a closer look at the damage:

Girkin-Strelkov comments the explosion on the Kerch Bridge:

"I have nothing to add to what I wrote after the last attack on Crimea bridge: 'they will strike again'. They will strike again. More, farther, stronger. Until the amazing idiots in the Kremlin realize there will be no negotiations, that the partners won't understand and forgive them and that the war is for winning."

Russian officials encouraged holidaymakers stranded in Crimea to drive home through occupied Ukraine after explosions damaged the Kerch Bridge, connecting the Crimean peninsula to Russia, halting traffic.

The attack killed two people and left their daughter injured, with Putin ordering authorities to repair the road and help tourists stranded in Crimea.

The Russian deputy prime minister, Marat Khusnullin, said on Monday that the road bridge linking southern Russia to Crimea would be completely repaired by 1 November after an overnight attack that caused severe damage.

Commercial flights to Moscow-annexed Crimea have been suspended after the start of the offensive in Ukraine, and most Russian tourists drive to Crimea through the bridge.

With traffic jams building up, officials proposed that tourists drive 400km (250 miles) through territories held by the Russian army, some seriously affected by fighting, AFP reports.

According to Google Maps, the traffic jam of those trying to leave crimea has reached 10 kilometers. Russian Hospitality Union reports that at least 50,000 tourists are currently in Crimea and most of them arrived on their personal vehicles.

Defence of Ukraine wishes all holiday-makers in Crimea a wonderful summer! Drive safely!