In what appears to be a successful attack on a key transportation link between Russia and Ukrainian Crimea, the Kerch Strait bridge was heavily damaged by an explosion earlier today. The bridge, one of Putin's sources of pride, was completed in 2018 and carries both rail and road traffic. From the Associated Press report:
"An explosion caused the partial collapse of a bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with Russia on Saturday, damaging a key supply artery for the Kremlin’s faltering war effort in southern Ukraine. Three people were killed in the blast, Russian authorities said. [snip]
The bombing came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin turned 70, dealing him a humiliating blow that could lead him to up the ante in his war on Ukraine.
Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee said that a truck bomb caused seven railway cars carrying fuel to catch fire, resulting in a 'partial collapse of two sections of the bridge.'” (our emphasis)
It's likely that the bridge was brought down by a large quantity of explosives in a truck or other vehicle, according to the report. Eastern Crimea is thought to be out of range for Ukrainian missiles or artillery.
The explosion comes over two days after President Biden, speaking at a Democratic fundraiser, said that a nuclear Armageddon is a risk with Russia threatening to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, using the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 as a benchmark. The remark was later walked back by White House and the intelligence officials who said that there was no evidence of Putin planning to use such weapons. This isn't the time for mixed messages from the Administration. Biden appears to have gone off script in these comments, and it should be the last time he does that on this subject.
BONUS: The Ukrainians are becoming the masters at trolling the ham-fisted Russians, to wit, to "celebrate" Putin's birthday yesterday, they prepared this:
Доброго ранку, Україно! 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/UQMI6LheSR
— Oleksiy Danilov (@OleksiyDanilov) October 8, 2022
