A large fire broke out this Saturday morning on the Crimean bridge, symbol of the annexation of the eponymous Ukrainian peninsula to Russia. A truck bomb is believed to be the cause of the explosion, damaging two lanes of traffic. The fire would then have spread to railway tanks. An incident which occurs even as Ukraine announces that it has liberated nearly 2,500 km2 during the last counter-offensive.
Information to remember:
- A fire took place on the Crimean Bridge, blocking car and rail traffic on the structure for several hours
- A car bomb is believed to be the cause of the incident. Russia announces opening a criminal investigation
- The IMF has announced the release of 1.3 billion dollars for Ukraine
- Ukraine announced on Friday that it had taken over nearly 2,500 km² of territory during a final counter-offensive.
A fire caused by a truck bomb paralyzes the Russian bridge in Crimea
A truck bomb started a large fire on the Crimean Bridge, key infrastructure and symbol of the annexation of the eponymous Ukrainian peninsula, the Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee announced on Saturday, without immediately accusing Ukraine. This bridge, built at great expense on the orders of Vladimir Putin, is used in particular to transport military equipment from the Russian army fighting in Ukraine.
— Anastasiia Lapatina (@lapatina_) October 8, 2022
“Today at 06:07 (03:07 GMT) on the road part of the Crimean bridge (…) a car bomb exploded, which caused the fire of seven railway tanks that went to Crimea “, said the committee, quoted by the Russian agencies. The Kremlin spokesman told the Ria Novosti agency that Vladimir Putin had ordered the formation of a government commission to establish the facts. According to the Anti-Terrorism Committee, two road lanes are damaged, but the arch of the bridge is not affected.
The head of the Crimean assembly, the regional parliament installed by Russia, Vladimir Konstantinov denounced a coup “of the Ukrainian vandals”. If Ukraine is the cause of the fire and explosion on the Crimean bridge, it would be a snub to Russia that such crucial infrastructure so far from the front could be damaged by Ukrainian forces.
At least three dead in Crimean Bridge blast, investigators say
At least three people were killed in the explosion which damaged the Crimean bridge linking Russia to this annexed Ukrainian peninsula, announced the Russian investigators, who claim to have identified the owner of the bombed truck. “According to preliminary data, three people were killed as a result of the accident. They are probably the passengers of a car that was near the truck when it exploded,” said the Russian Investigative Committee. in a press release.
According to this source, “the bodies of two victims – a man and a woman – have already been taken out of the water”. The Investigative Committee, the body in charge of the main criminal investigations in Russia, also claimed to have “established the identity of the truck and its owner” suspected of being at the origin of the explosion. It would be a resident of the Krasnodar region in southern Russia. “An investigation has been opened on his place of residence. The route of the truck and the relevant documents are being studied,” added the investigators.
Traffic was reopened to cars and buses on the Crimean Bridge on Saturday afternoon, “with full inspection procedures”, Crimean leader Sergei Aksionov said on Telegram. Later that evening, rail traffic also resumed.
Russia opens investigation and slams Ukraine’s reaction
Russia on Saturday opened a criminal investigation into the blast that severely damaged the major bridge linking Moscow’s annexed Crimea to the mainland, and which it says was caused by a vehicle explosion. The Russian Investigative Committee said it had “opened a criminal investigation in connection with the incident on the Crimean Bridge”. He specified that the explosion took place after “the explosion of a truck”.
In addition, Russia on Saturday castigated the Ukrainian reaction to the explosion which damaged the Crimean bridge, a key and symbolic infrastructure of this peninsula annexed by Moscow, a sign according to it of the “terrorist nature” of Ukraine. “The kyiv regime’s reaction to the damage to civilian infrastructure demonstrates its terrorist nature,” Russian foreign affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. Ukrainian officials on Saturday multiplied mocking and ironic comments about the explosion, without claiming responsibility.
IMF releases $1.3 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will release $1.3 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine through its new aid instrument to deal with food shocks, the institution announced in a press release on Friday. This new envelope aims to “support Ukraine in the face of its urgent needs in terms of balance of payments” but also to “play a catalytic role for future financial support from donors and creditors of Ukraine”, explained the IMF.
“The scale and intensity of the war launched by Russia against Ukraine more than seven months ago has caused considerable human suffering and strongly affected the Ukrainian economy”, estimated the institution in its press release, adding: “GDP is expected to decline by 35% in 2022 compared to 2021 and financing needs remain very significant.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the IMF assistance earlier in the day on Twitter, adding that “funds will arrive in Ukraine as of today” and thanking Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and the IMF Executive Board. , “for their support”.
Nearly 2,500 km2 of territory liberated in the last counter-offensive
The Ukrainian army has taken over nearly 2,500 km2 of territory controlled by Russian forces during its last counter-offensive launched at the end of September, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.
“This week alone, our soldiers have liberated 776 km2 of territory in the east of our country and 29 localities, including six in the Lugansk region. In total, 2,434 km2 of our territory and 96 localities have already been liberated since the beginning of this offensive operation”, he welcomed in his daily speech published on social networks.
In recent days, kyiv troops have made a second major push, in the Kharkiv region (northeast) but also in the south, near Kherson, a city controlled by the Russians.
Russia replaces offensive commander in Ukraine
The Russian military on Saturday announced the appointment of a new commander for its “special military operation” in Ukraine after a series of bitter setbacks on the ground and signs of growing discontent among the elites over the conduct of the conflict. “Army General Sergei Surovikin has been appointed commander of the combined group of troops in the area of special military operations” in Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Telegram.
Sergei Surovikin, 55, is a veteran of the civil war in Tajikistan in the 1990s, the second Chechnya war in the 2000s and the Russian intervention in Syria launched in 2015. Until then, he led the group of forces “South” in Ukraine, according to a Russian ministry report from July.
The name of his predecessor has never been officially revealed, but according to Russian media it was General Alexander Dvornikov, also a veteran of the second Chechen war and commander of Russian forces in Syria from 2015 to 2016. This decision, which was, unusually, made public by Moscow, comes after a series of crushing defeats suffered by the Russian army in Ukraine.
Zaporizhia nuclear power plant cut off from power supply
Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has lost its last external power source due to renewed shelling and relies on emergency generators, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday. The site occupied and then annexed by Russia obtains “the electricity it needs for cooling the reactor and other essential functions of nuclear safety and security” only thanks to diesel generators, added the UN body in a statement.
“The connection was cut around 1 a.m. local time,” said the IAEA, which says it is basing itself on “official information from Ukraine” as well as “reports from its team” of four experts. present in the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. “The resumption of bombardments, hitting the only external energy source of the plant, is totally irresponsible”, reacted the director general of the IAEA Rafael Grossi. “I will soon go to Russia, then return to Ukraine, to agree on a nuclear protection and safety zone around the plant. It is an absolute and urgent imperative”, he hammered.
At dawn, the Ukrainian operator Energoatom wrote on Telegram that “the last connection line was damaged and disconnected” due to Russian shelling. The Russian Defense Ministry has accused Ukrainian forces of being behind the bombings. “In total, Ukrainian troops fired 15 rockets from the locality under their control of Marganets in the Dnipropetrovsk region,” he said, confirming the disconnection of the power line.
“Emergency diesel generators are used to ensure the operation of the nuclear power plant,” continued the Russian army, claiming to carry out repair work. According to Moscow, the level of radiation at the plant is “normal”. Although the six reactors are shut down, they still need electricity for vital nuclear safety and security functions. The plant’s diesel generators each have enough fuel for at least ten days.