BBC reports that Russian officials claim a lorry exploded, causing a large fire at the only crossing between the occupied Crimean Peninsula and Russia.
Oil tankers on rail section caught fire after a blast on road section. The road then collapsed.
The bridge is now used by Russia to move military equipment from Crimea into Ukraine.
The official Twitter account for the Ukraine government responded by tweeting “Sick Burn.”
Mykhailo Podelyak, an adviser to Ukraine’s president Zelensky called the damage “a beginning” but did not claim direct responsibility for Ukraine.
He tweeted: “Everything illegal has to be destroyed, all stolen goods must be returned back to Ukraine, and everything occupied by Russia has got be expelled.”
The Ukraine defense ministry has compared the explosion of the bridge to the sinking in April of Russia’s Moskva cruiser missile ship.
It tweeted: “Two famous symbols of Russian power have fallen in Ukrainian Crimea,” it tweeted. “What’s the next in line?”
The Crimea memorial was opened by President Putin in 2018 to show that Crimea is Russian.
Ukrainians are particularly hateful of the bridge. Social media in Ukraine erupted with celebration when they saw the fire, one day after Russian president Vladimir Putin turned 70.
The suspension of road and rail traffic has been announced. Local authorities in Crimea have announced that they will organize a ferry between the Russian mainland peninsula and the peninsula.
The National Anti–Terrorism Committee of Russia (NAC) stated: “At 0607 Moscow time today [0307 GMT], a cargo truck on the motorway portion of the Crimean Bridge on the side Taman peninsula was hit by an explosion, which ignited seven fuel tanks on a train en route to Crimea.
Two motorway sections of bridge partially collapsed.
Vladimir Konstantinov, the Crimean parliament speaker, blamed the explosion “on Ukrainian vandals who have finally reached their blood-stained hands to the Crimean Bridge”.
He said that the damage to bridge will be “promptly repaired, as it is not a serious matter”.
Source: The BBC
Read More @ georgiatoday.ge