Crimean bridge explosion: what we know and don’t know
The European Union wants to train up to 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers in EU countries next winter. This is reported by the “Welt am Sonntag”. The headquarters should therefore be in Germany and Poland. It is also about nuclear defense. The Ukrainian soldiers are to receive training in chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, it is said. Training for cyber attacks is also planned. Germany is primarily responsible for mine clearance and tactical aspects.
Divers from Russia are scheduled to investigate the damage to the Crimean Bridge today, Russian news agencies report. The investigators should therefore be finished with their work by Sunday evening.
The Russian secret service (FSB) is also said to be checking the Crimean bridge more closely. Officially, the FSB was not responsible at all. So far, the task has been shared between the Ministry of Defence, the National Guard and the Ministry of Transport. Only after the explosion did Putin instruct the secret service by decree to tighten control over the damaged Crimean bridge. “The FSB will be given powers to organize and coordinate protective measures for the transport route across the Kerch Strait, for the power bridge of the Russian Federation to the Crimea peninsula and the gas pipeline from Krasnodar Territory to Crimea,” the decree said.
It is the first action taken by the Kremlin after the morning’s suspected attack-induced explosion. However, the Russian President did not want to comment publicly. According to official information, Putin will not speak to the Russians in the next few days either. Such an appearance is not planned, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Saturday. Political observers had considered the president’s speech likely given the severe damage to the bridge. In the past, Moscow had threatened Kyiv with serious consequences in the event of an attempted attack on the object.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not revealed his country’s involvement in the explosion on the Crimean bridge. In Ukraine it was mostly sunny and warm, “unfortunately cloudy in Crimea, although warm there too,” he said in his daily video speech, alluding to the morning detonation on the bridge. He did not go into detail about the incident. He then asked the Russians once more to surrender and flee. This is her best option to stay alive. There will be a future without occupiers in Ukraine. “All over our territory, especially in Crimea,” he said.
According to Zelenskyy, the advance of Ukrainian troops in the east and south continues. However, he gave no information about new conquests. Instead, the head of state highlighted the Donetsk region, a section of the front where the Russians had recently reported successes. The 44-year-old admitted that there was very hard fighting in the Bachmut area. He praised the “resilience” of the brigade holding positions there. The small town of Bakhmut is considered an important pillar in the defensive bulwark around the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk area in the Donetsk region, which is controlled by Kyiv.
Prior to Zelensky, several high-ranking politicians close to the Ukrainian president had fueled speculation that Kiev was involved in the crime. Ukraine’s Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov posted footage of the partially destroyed structure linking Russia and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, on Facebook on Saturday. He also posted a video showing Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) singing the birthday song “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to then-US President John F. Kennedy in 1962. Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated his 70th birthday on Friday.
The adviser to the presidential office, Mykhailo Podoliak, initially tweeted: “Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine.” A few hours later he rowed back with cryptic statements. He presented the attack as a competition between the Russian army and the FSB secret service. The FSB was trying to replace the army leadership and was now suddenly struck down because it had overslept the attack on the bridge. “Isn’t it obvious who caused the explosion?” he indulged in conspiracy theories.
After a Russian rocket attack in the center of the city of Zaporizhia, the death toll has increased, according to Ukrainian sources. At least 17 people were killed, including a child, the Ukrainian state emergency service said on the online service Telegram. On Saturday, Ukrainian authorities had already corrected the number of deaths to 14.
The city of Zaporizhia, controlled by Ukrainian units, is located in the region of the same name, in which the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is also located. Moscow annexed the region earlier this week, although it is not fully under Russian troops’ control. By decree, Russian President Vladimir Putin also placed the nuclear power plant under Russian administration on Wednesday.
The Russian troops in Ukraine, meanwhile, have a new commander after numerous defeats in their war of aggression. The 55-year-old Army General Sergei Surovikin was deployed by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to lead the “military special operation”, said ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov in Moscow on Saturday. According to commentators, Shoigu is accommodating his critics who, in the face of defeats, had called for the troops in Ukraine to be regrouped.
At the same time, under pressure from Ukrainian counter-offensives, the Russian occupiers are preparing to evacuate tens of thousands of civilians in the southern Ukrainian region of Cherson annexed by Moscow. Among other things, the Russian regions of Krasnodar and Stavropol are ready to take in children and adults, wrote the head of the occupation of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, on his Telegram channel on Saturday.
Officially, the Russian authorities are still investigating the explosion at the Crimean bridge. If there are already first results on Sunday, an official – and possibly military – reaction from Moscow could follow. More heavy fighting is expected at the front in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Also Read: The Ukraine Update on October 8th
