Kerch bridge has been struck!

The Russian bridge connecting Crimea to mainland Russia has been damaged. Two spans of one of the road section is in the water and the rail side is heavily damaged.

This was a big boom and is a big deal.

The day after Putin's birthday blasting a section of his favorite bridge has to be a blow to Putin and the Russian military. I'm sure that they'll repair it quickly but 12 miles of bridge has been an awfully tempting target. I've read that some experts thought this would never happen as the move would be too provocative and in the long run, the bridge is too valuable to destroy. Yet, it fits with the tactics the Ukrainians have been using to cut off any supplies from Russia - starving the troops of food, fuel and ammo - before attacking. Ukraine appears to leave bridges semi-damaged so troops can escape - on foot. They have to leave heavy equipment behind. This suggest Crimea is definitely in the Ukraine's sights and will be targeted for attacks in a few months.

Of course, I'm talking out my arse right now but it's a reasonable assumption.

-m

Another note about the bridge at Kersh

There's a video going around showing the moment when the explosion rocked the bridge leading to Crimea. I'd like to express a few thoughts on it.

First of all... yes, it appears to be CCTV footage of the actual explosion. However, a careful look at the earliest example that I've seen of that footage shows that it is a camera - probably a cellphone camera - videoing the screen of the playback of the explosion. It's not the actual recording of the incident but a recording of the recording. This is important for two reasons:

First, it's not the best record of the incident being down a generation from the original CCTV footage. Later versions have been digitally stabilized. Any conclusions drawn from this footage has to be taken with a shaker full of salt.

Second, who pulled out their camera to record the footage? I'm assuming they also uploaded it. In addition, was this the same person who had control of the footage so they could play it back and record it? Or were there multiple people in the control room in on this? This leads to all sorts of delightful security questions.

-m