Was Crimea bridge explosion ordered by one of Putin’s OWN commanders? Ukraine claims warring leaders of Russia’s security factions were behind blast – as Western sources suggest it was plot by Moscow establishment to weaken Putin and trigger toppling
- Zelensky’s presidential adviser alleged Russia was behind the bridge explosion
- He said it was a symptom of the infighting between FSB and defence ministry
- Russia has not yet assigned blame, claiming that a truck bomb caused damage
- But footage seemingly showed a mysterious wave moments before explosion
- It is thought a bomb-laden Ukrainian boat or drone could’ve caused the blast
A leading Ukrainian presidential aide claimed this morning that the explosion which damaged a key bridge in Crimea may have been ordered by one of Vladimir Putin’s warring commanders.
The 12 mile crossing over the Kerch strait links Crimea to the Russian mainland and is a major artery for Putin’s forces that control most of southern Ukraine’s Kherson region and for the Russian naval port of Sevastopol.
It was damaged in an explosion early Saturday morning which saw chunks of the bridge fall into the sea and a large fire break out.
The incident prompted gleeful messages from Ukrainian officials – though no claim of responsibility – and video footage of the bridge appeared to show a mysterious wave crest underneath the structure moments before the blast, prompting speculation that a Ukrainian-piloted boat or drone was likely behind it.
But Zelensky’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak today alleged that the explosion was of Russian origin.
Russia’s FSB secret service and private military organisations are at loggerheads with the defence ministry and are trying to undermine one another’s credibility in bitter dogfight over the botched war, he alleged.
Putin had previously ordered the FSB to monitor security on the bridge, a sign of his mistrust of the army and defence ministry.
‘FSB/PMC try to eliminate leadership of Defense Ministry/GHQ…Isn’t it obvious who made an explosion? Truck arrived from RF [Russian Federation],’ Podolyak said in a post on Twitter.
A Western diplomatic source added that the bridge attack could have been commissioned from inside the Russian establishment to fatally weaken Putin and trigger his toppling.
‘It might be the SBU [Ukrainian secret service] but it also could be the first major sign of a bid from within Russia to incapacitate the Kremlin tsar,’ the source said.
A key bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland over the Kerch strait is seen damaged and on fire following an explosion on Saturday morning
The 12 mile crossing over the Kerch strait links Crimea to the Russian mainland and is a major artery for Putin’s forces that control most of southern Ukraine’s Kherson region and for the Russian naval port of Sevastopol
Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, claimed the explosion which damaged a key bridge linking Crimea to Russian mainland was likely an inside job
‘FSB/PMC try to eliminate leadership of Defense Ministry/GHQ…Isn’t it obvious who made an explosion? Truck arrived from RF [Russian Federation],’ Podolyak said in a post on Twitter
Ukrainian president and ex-comedian Volodymyr Zelensky rediscovered his comic chops in a tongue-in-cheek weather report following yesterday’s explosion at the bridge.
The Kyiv leader poked fun at the humiliating attack on Putin’s supply line, making the audacious comments in his nightly video address posted on Telegram.
Zelensky said: ‘Today was a good and mostly sunny day in our country. Over most of the territory, it was about 20 degrees Celsius and sunny.
‘Unfortunately, it was cloudy in Crimea, although it was still warm. But however the clouds are, Ukrainians know what to do, and they know that our future is sunny.
‘This is the future without invaders, on all our territory, in particular in Crimea.’
The explosion took place just hours after Putin’s 70th birthday, with another of Zelensky’s aides joking: ‘Happy birthday, Mr President’.
The Kremlin had claimed the bridge, which was opened personally by Putin in 2018 to much fanfare in Russian-state media, was being protected by a maximum security operation.
Russia furiously claimed a truck bomb caused the blast and avoided apportioning blame.
Officials identified Samir Yusubov, 25, from the Krasnodar region in Russia, as the alleged owner of the red-coloured International Prostar truck thought to have exploded. They are still investigating who was driving the truck.
Images appear to show movement in the water under the bridge a split second before the explosion which brought down the road bridge and set fire to oil tankers
Russian law enforcement identified Samir Yusubov, 25, from the Krasnodar region in Russia, as the alleged owner of the red-coloured International Prostar truck, which, according to investigators, exploded on the Crimean Bridge
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin dispatched a team of divers to examine the bridge underwater
Russian divers are now examining the damage left by Saturday’s blast on the Kerch bridge to Crimea.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said the divers would start work in the morning, with a more detailed survey above the waterline expected to be complete by day’s end, Russian news agencies reported.
The team will inspect the bridge’s foundations for structural integrity and will search for further evidence in relation to the blast, which killed three people.
‘The situation is manageable – it’s unpleasant, but not fatal,’ Crimea’s Russian governor Sergei Aksyonov assured reporters before threatening to retaliate over the blast.
‘Of course, emotions have been triggered and there is a healthy desire to seek revenge,’ he said.
It was not yet clear if the blast was a deliberate attack, but the damage to such a high-profile structure came amid battlefield defeats for Russia and could further cloud Kremlin reassurances that the conflict is going to plan.
On Saturday, Putin signed a decree for tighter security for the bridge, as well as the infrastructure supplying electricity and natural gas to Crimea, and ordered an investigation.
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