Russian hardliners are calling for revenge

In a powerful explosion yesterday, the Russian road-railway bridge to Crimea was damaged, a prestigious symbol of the annexation of the peninsula and a key supply route for Russian forces fighting to keep the occupied territory in the south of Ukraine.

The explosion on the bridge across the Kerch Strait, for which Russia did not immediately blame anyone, caused the jubilation of Ukrainian officials, but without a direct claim of responsibility. Russian officials said three people were killed, possibly passengers in a car traveling near the truck that exploded.

Despite the damage, limited road traffic resumed for about 10 hours after the blast, and the Ministry of Transport said later yesterday that trains could continue to use the bridge.

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday ordered to strengthen the security of the bridge as well as the infrastructure that supplies Crimea with electricity and natural gas, the Interfax agency announced. The decree adds that the Federal Security Service (FSB) will be responsible for strengthening security measures, Reuters reported.

Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and Putin, with great fanfare, opened the Crimean bridge connecting the peninsula to Russia's transportation network four years later. The jewel in the crown of Putin's infrastructure projects is 19 kilometers long, and the Russian media described it as "the building of the century".

The bridge now provides a major artery for Russian forces that have taken control of much of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine and for the naval port of Sevastopol. It has been strongly defended since the beginning of the total Russian invasion of Ukraine and Moscow has warned of retaliation if attacked.

The damage could further cloud encouraging messages from the Kremlin that the "special military operation" is proceeding according to plan

Russian officials and military bloggers yesterday called for retaliation against attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, and one member of the Crimean parliament warned that anything less than an "extremely blunt" response would be a sign of weakness.

Gennady Zyuganov, head of Russia's Communist Party, said the "terrorist attack" should be a wake-up call. "The special operation must be turned into an anti-terrorist operation," he said.

It is not known whether it was a deliberate attack, but the damage to such important infrastructure occurred at a time when Russia has suffered several defeats on the battlefield and could further confuse the Kremlin's encouraging messages to citizens that the "special military operation" is proceeding according to plan.

The explosion came a day after Putin's 70th birthday and coincided with the appointment of Air Force General Sergei Surovikin as commander of all Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. It is Russia's third high-ranking military appointment in seven days.

Surovikin (55) has led the Russian Aerospace Forces since 2017. According to the website of the Russian Ministry of Defense, he commanded the Guards Division stationed in Chechnya in 2004, during Moscow's war against Islamist rebels, and was awarded a medal for service in Syria in 2017. . years.

He has been accused in Syria of "controversial" tactics including indiscriminate bombing of anti-government fighters.

The attack on the bridge will further weaken Russia's morale, and give Ukraine an additional boost. It is possible that the Russians can rebuild it, but they cannot defend it while they are losing the war

It is the first official appointment of only one commander for all Russian forces on the battlefield in Ukraine. The Guardian, which describes him as a "notorious general who opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in the 1990s", says his appointment may indicate that Russian authorities are now aware that the military is in danger of collapsing in Ukraine, whose forces are advancing in all four areas that Putin declared annexed last Sunday.

The British paper adds that the Kremlin may also want to respond to criticism from nationalists who accuse the army of mismanaging the war and of not using harsh enough tactics to force the government in Kiev to submit.

"Happy Birthday, President"

The head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, posted on social networks the scene of the burning bridge along with a video of Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President."

Since the invasion began on February 24, Ukrainian officials have regularly hinted that they want to destroy the bridge, which is seen in Ukraine as a symbol of Russia's occupation of Crimea. The Ukrainian postal service announced yesterday that it will print a special stamp commemorating the explosion.

The adviser to the Ukrainian president assessed that the explosion was caused by conflicts within the inner circle of Putin's associates

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated in a statement that its forces in southern Ukraine can be "fully supplied" by existing land and sea routes.

While there are other ways to supply Crimea, including its ports, the damage to the bridge is of immense importance to a place that Russia until recently considered out of Ukraine's reach.

The attack on the bridge "will further weaken Russia's morale, and give an additional incentive to Ukraine," said James Nixey from London's Chatham House. "It is possible that the Russians can rebuild it, but they cannot defend it while they are losing the war".

The spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, said that Kiev's reaction to the destruction of civilian infrastructure "testifies to its terrorist nature."

Mihailo Podoljak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said that the fact that the truck was traveling from Russia shows that the explosion was organized by Russian operatives.

"Undoubtedly, we are witnessing the beginning of major negative processes in Russia," said Podoljak.

"This is a concrete manifestation of the conflict between the FSB and private military companies on the one hand and the Ministry of Defense/General Staff of the Russian Federation on the other." He previously announced on Twitter that yesterday's incident was just "the beginning".