VLADIMIR Putin's prized bridge linking Russia to Crimea has exploded in a massive inferno after Ukraine threatened to strike it.
The Kerch bridge exploded in a fireball early on Saturday as a train passed over it in what's being dubbed a speculator blow to Putin war efforts.
The mystical explosion took out a section of a road bridge which runs parallel to the stricken rail route – collapsing it into the Black Sea.
If it is out of action, it will seriously hit Putin’s supply routes to the territory he grabbed eight years ago and signal a turning pointing in the war.
Both the rail and road bridges are hated symbols of Russia's occupation of Crimea and have been key supply routes through Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Striking it would be both a symbolic and strategic move on Ukraine's part – though no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
READ MORE UKRAINE STORIES
Cornered rat Putin’s at his most dangerous but even nukes can’t save him
Putin’s forces shell city near huge nuclear plant as Biden warns of ‘Armageddon’
Extraordinary footage from the scene shows a train – allegedly carrying fuel – engulfed in flames and the bridge's foundations buckling under the sheer force of the fire.
Witnesses reported hearing explosions at around 6am local time which could be heard from miles away.
New videos showed the moment the Crimean bridge was rocked by at least one giant explosion.
The clips suggests a truck exploded while on the road section of the bridge as it drove towards Kerch in Crimea.
Most read in News
Man, 20, raped by two strangers in alleyway, as cops make three arrests
Woman sexually assaulted while sleeping by man who broke into her house
Traumatised woman, 23, who survived ISIS attack 'euthanised' in clinic
Three people confirmed dead after devastating petrol station explosion
Russia forcibly took control of Crimea in 2014 and built what is still the longest bridge Moscow has ever built four years later.
The railway span is part of a pair of parallel bridges, crossing the Kerch Strait linking Krasnodar in Russia and Crimea.
Some 11 miles long, the road bridge was opened by Russian president Vladimir Putin in 2018, with the railway bridge opening two years later.
Russian sources speculate on an underwater drone being responsible for the attack on the Crimean Bridge – long seen as a prize target by the Ukrainians.
A former British army explosives expert said the incident "is a masterpiece of clandestine sabotage", according to the BBC.
President Zelensky's office said the explosion was "the beginning", adding that "everything illegal must be destroyed".
Shocked pro-Kremlin war reporter Andrey Rudenko said: “What kind of power did the explosion have to for a span of the bridge to go under water?
“It is quite possible to assume that the main explosion was underwater.
“At the beginning of the year, there were reports that the West had supplied Ukraine with underwater kamikaze drones."
The apparent attack came the day after Vladimir Putin's 70th birthday.
He called for immediate vengeance against Kyiv.
There were suggestions Putin may address the nation on the bridge explosion amid fears he will unleash more havoc on Ukraine and has already hinted that he could use nuclear weapons.
Read More on The Sun
Urgent warning to anyone who smokes over heightened risk as weather changes
I tried to make my kid a Frozen-themed cake but they look like zombies
Russia launched a criminal case into the damage to the bridge, said the country’s Investigation Committee.
Ukraine in recent days has grown more confident in predicting they will retake the peninsula.
Source: Read Full Article
