Alwaght- The Kerch bridge that links the Crimean Peninsula with mainland Russia has been damaged by a huge explosion on Saturday.
Officials said that the blast, which occurred shortly after 6am local time, caused a partial collapse of the road on the vehicle section. It also triggered a blaze on a freight train on the parallel rail section, with seven fuel tanks catching fire.
“The arch above the shipping section of the bridge has not been damaged,” Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee said.
A top aide to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has warned the blast that rocked the Crimean Bridge early on Saturday is just “the beginning”.
“Crimea, the bridge, the beginning,” Mikhail Podoliak tweeted. “Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled.” The former journalist, who is effectively the Kiev regime's main propagandist, controls the president's "information policy."
He previously warned, in August, that that Europe’s largest bridge “should be destroyed” because it’s “an illegal construction and the main gateway to supply the Russian army in Crimea.”
The 19-kilometer (11.8 mile) bridge, which runs across the Kerch Strait and connects Crimea with mainland Russia, consists of a railway section and a vehicle section. It became fully operational in 2020.
