Russia on Sunday disclosed that no fewer than three people had been killed after a truck exploded on its bridge linking Crimea — a symbol of its annexation of the peninsula — while hesitating to blame Ukraine.
Africa Today News, New York reports that this was coming less than a few days after a series of setbacks on the battlefield that triggered unprecedented criticism of its army at home, Moscow appointed a new general to lead its Ukraine offensive.
The blast had pushed through the 19-kilometre (12-mile) bridge more than seven months into Moscow’s Ukraine offensive.
Local officials later disclosed that it had reopened to motor traffic with vehicles subject to stringent screening. Shortly after, Grand Service Express, which operates rail services there, said the first trains had left the peninsula for Moscow and St Petersburg.
The blast had sparked intense excitement and speculation from Ukrainians and others on social media, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made no direct mention of it in his nightly address, and officials made no claim of responsibility.
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Earlier, dramatic social media footage showed the bridge on fire with parts plunging into the water.
Russian investigators said three people had been killed. The bodies of an unidentified man and a woman were pulled out of the water, likely passengers in a car driving near the exploded truck, Moscow said.
The authorities also said they had identified the owner of the truck as a resident of Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, saying his home was being searched.
Russia said the blast — which happened just after 6:00 am (0300 GMT) — had set ablaze seven oil tankers transported by train and collapsed two car lanes.
Africa Today News, New York reports that the bridge is logistically crucial for Moscow, a vital transport link for carrying military equipment to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
It is also hugely symbolic.
President Vladimir Putin personally inaugurated the bridge in 2018 — even driving a truck across it — and Moscow had maintained the crossing was safe despite the fighting.