Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to strengthen measures for protecting transport crossing through the Kerch Strait.
Putin seeks intensified measures to protect Crimea-related facilities including the power grid connecting Crimea and the main gas pipeline to the peninsula.
Putin on Saturday authorized the Russian Federal Security Service to organize and coordinate measures to effectively protect these facilities, said the decree published by the Kremlin. Earlier on Saturday, a deadly blast hit the 19-km Crimean Bridge, which consists of two parallel routes for automobiles and trains over the Kerch Strait.
A truck exploded on the road bridge, causing seven fuel tanks of a train heading to the Crimean Peninsula to catch fire. Three people were killed in the blast, which also led to the partial collapse of two spans of the road bridge.
The fire broke out on the Kerch Bridge that links Crimea to Russia, causing the structure to partially collapse on Saturday morning after Ukraine reported an explosion in the vicinity. The bridge, which was opened in 2018 following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, is considered a significant logistical supply route for Russian forces in Crimea, The Guardian reports. Russian state media says the blaze was caused by a truck explosion.
Traffic has reopened to cars and buses with a full inspection procedure needed, while trucks are still required to cross the Kerch Strait by ferry, Crimea’s head Sergei Aksyonov said. Meanwhile, the railway service on the bridge has been fully restored and all scheduled trains, both for passengers and freight, will be able to cross the viaduct, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said late Saturday.
There are experts that predict this is the end of Putin because Vladimir Putin has broken his compact with the Russian people, and, for the first time, made a situation for the country’s elites to unite against him. A quarter of a million people fled Russia to avoid being enlisted. The invasion of Ukraine has been a total catastrophe and his army seemed badly trained, poorly led, corrupt, and often badly equipped. Perhaps one would argue that Ukraine was helped by the West, but the fact remains that Ukrainians fought the war alone. No other country helped them as in the real fight on the ground.
Russian President Vladimir Putin probably thought his invasion of Ukraine would take a few days, but it was not a cake walk and will Putin take a walk back and review his mistakes?