# Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion, breaking-news\ **Created:** [February 24, 2022, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037 "2022-02-24T08:30:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 463
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9309 "2022-10-08T16:16:28Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > The movement under the bridge looks like the wake of something. If it was a boat or drone boat that caused this, then how did it get there? The nearest Ukrainian-controlled coast is 300mi/500km away - as the crow flies. Why do you assume it has to come from a Ukrainian-controlled coast? Why not Russian occupied areas with resistance fighters? ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9310 "2022-10-08T16:25:40Z")
Elite Russian police units entering central Moscow. Members of the Russian military are reportedly being arrested. The source is Ukrainian intelligence. > **[Intelligence announces numerous arrests of military personnel in Moscow](https://www.yahoo.com/news/intelligence-announces-numerous-arrests-military-144705319.html)** > > KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO - SATURDAY, 8 OCTOBER 2022, 17:47 According to Ukrainian Intelligence, numerous arrests of servicemen have started in Moscow, with traffic in the city centre blocked, although Russian media are failing to report this. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9311 "2022-10-08T16:26:59Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Why does the road way go down towards water level? At first I thought it was part of the damage, but looking at the supports, it’s clear it’s a gradual engineered drop. How come? Cars can easily climb the grade needed to get to the high point (where boats can cross under). Trains need a more level grade. It’s cheaper to make the road grade rise and fall because there’s less concrete involved in the varying height of supports. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9312 "2022-10-08T16:50:58Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Apparently Russian structural engineers do damage assessment in the same way as their naval engineers. They’re letting vehicles cross the mostly-intact traffic span. It’s always very important to them to pretend that any given punch didn’t hurt at all. I guess Calvin’s dad was right about [how to build bridges](https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/11/26), at least in Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9313 "2022-10-08T17:06:49Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Why do you assume it has to come from a Ukrainian-controlled coast? Why not Russian occupied areas with resistance fighters? Good point. The wake is coming from the north-east, so the Sea of Azov, rather than the Black Sea. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9314 "2022-10-08T17:12:35Z")
> [@txtumbleweed](#): > > If there’s not much Russian navy left in the Black Sea, is drone technology good enough for a semi-submersible to be used for an operation like this? It wouldn’t have to be that accurate to a specific GPS position, just good enough to hit some point on the entire coordinate string of the bridge. It’s probably something they’re looking at. What they need to do is take out the supports which take longer to repair and also take out 2 section of spans. If they could drop the steel structures spanning the ship crossing that would take real time to repair and block shipping through the area. What might work is a swarm of drones that can attach to the steel bridge structure magnetically with thermite grenades. All technology easily cobbled together. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9315 "2022-10-08T17:13:23Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > there also seems to be a “night-of-long-knives” going on > [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Elite Russian police units entering central Moscow. Members of the Russian military are reportedly being arrested. Hmmm… spooks grabbing soldiers, maybe the Big Guy is fearing that the Army may be about to have enough of this, so let’s cut out _that_ possibility? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9316 "2022-10-08T17:13:41Z")
First that pipeline(s), now the bridge. Russia’s water-based infrastructure isn’t doing too well. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9317 "2022-10-08T17:27:01Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > The wake is coming from the north-east, so the Sea of Azov, rather than the Black Sea. You are correct, I just glanced at the map of the bridge and the roadway is on the north side, so if it was a shipborne attack (and personally I believe it will prove to be) then the attack came from the Sea of Azov. Now one could argue that there was nothing preventing the vessel from having first sailed from the south at an earlier time only to return when the situation was favorable. Despite Russian assurances there has not been a track record of good security in the region. Another question I have is that was the train stopped at the time and why? The engines weren’t damaged in the attack and if it had been moving when struck one might expect a derailment. More to the point the presence of the train at the time of the attack is too good to be mere coincidence. Did the Ukranians manufacture a stop order for the train while it was on the bridge then sail the remote controlled bomb boat below it from a nearby place? There would be no logical reason to stop a train in the middle of the bridge unless it was told to stop. All in all the target is too important for such an attack to be haphazard. Ukraine has shown a lot of ingenuity in their attacks over time. Even if the bridges can be returned to operation soon it represents a propaganda victory akin to the Doolittle Raid, and gives the Russians something else to worry about, not unlike how the Japanese reacted after Doolittle. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9318 "2022-10-08T17:27:30Z")
This series of Tweets seems like a good initial analysis of the explosion: > ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9319 "2022-10-08T17:46:18Z")
The driver may not have been aware he had a bomb onboard. It could be detonated remotely or by GPS position lock. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9320 "2022-10-08T17:46:38Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > there are epic levels of snark, then there are _Ukrainian_ levels of snark I love this comment. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9321 "2022-10-08T17:55:23Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > Kerch Bridge is a great psychological hit for Ukraine. If a lot of stuff was staged for movement in Krasnador, it will have to go further up through Rostov-on-Don now. A high percentage hit to material flow. But not crucial. at this stage of the war and its momentum, EVERYTHING is crucial for russia (and not in a good way) … claiming it is not, is **“_trying to cover the sun with your thumb_”** (latin proverb) > [@Gorsnak](#): > > Could be a very bad week for Russian logistics. could we settle for “year”? . > [@Kedikat](#): > > It is very close there. Donetsk is shelled regularly. But not very heavily. I would not be surprised at all if they could get spotters to help. Again a tough job. But it is not impossible to take out rail lines in this situation. unless I am missing something here : Ukr has now weapons systems where you load the gps coodinates, pour yourself a glass of red wine, toast to your comrades and press the button … you make it sound like it were hard for the ukr to hit a train line … bear in mind, those are the same guys who sunk the Moscva, hit 2 bombers 250km ouside their territory and now semi-permantly de-iced the kerch bride [quote=“Gorsnak, post:9266, topic:960037”] Russia says it was a truck bomb. Which actually seems plausible, but since they never tell the truth now I don’t know what to think. 🤨 > [@Gorsnak](#): > > Big boom > > [https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1578635243455541248](https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1578635243455541248) I am sure it hurts twice as much to putin, since this basically live televised now … russians will have a hard time to “this-is-just-a-minor-flesh-wound” it. > [@Broomstick](#): > > I heard speculation it was a boat or barge going under the bridge that blew up, but no proof, just people guessing how it might have been done. And that could be. I expect we won’t know for sure for awhile. in one of the (not too recent) US weapons packages there was mention of something I had a hard time visualizing (and that never made it into the news, either) … paraphrasing here, but it was something along the line of “ **unmaned maritime vehicle** ” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9322 "2022-10-08T18:01:48Z")
_At this time_, the blast evidence points more towards a truck bomb than a blast on the waterline. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9323 "2022-10-08T18:04:25Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > The bridge destruction is front page NYT and WaPo today, explaining its strategic and symbolic importance. It is a BIG win for Ukraine. in my opinion this is a **STRESS TEST** concerning tactical nukes … if Putin doesnt launch nukes now, he will NOT launch them at all … exiting times we are living … and a hopefully peaceful weekend to us all… 😬 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9324 "2022-10-08T18:06:46Z")
And the Ukrainians have already got a wall mural of a pretend postage stamp with the bridge on fire, suitable for people to take selfies with, modelled on the « finger to the Moskva » stamp. I don’t know how to link to the image, but if you scroll down this article you come to it: > **[Blast damages only bridge linking Russia and Crimea; Zelenskyy advisor calls...](https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/10/08/russian-authorities-say-a-truck-bomb-caused-a-fire-and-damage-to-key-crimea-bridge.html)** > > Russian authorities reported on Saturday that a large blaze erupted on the only bridge linking mainland Russia to the occupied Crimean Peninsula. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9325 "2022-10-08T18:08:45Z")
[![](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/107131439-1665219352092-gettyimages-1243810096-221008ukrainegettylife-2.jpeg?v=1665219431&w=720&h=405) ](https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/107131439-1665219352092-gettyimages-1243810096-221008ukrainegettylife-2.jpeg?v=1665219431&w=720&h=405) To link to image: 1. Right-click or tap-and-hold the picture. 2. Choose “view in separate tab” 3. Go to that tab 4. Copy the URL 5. Paste here ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9326 "2022-10-08T18:09:37Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > The road part of the bridge rises up in the middle of the straits to allow ships and other nautical traffic to pass beneath the bridge. > [@Magiver](#): > > Cars can easily climb the grade needed to get to the high point (where boats can cross under). Trains need a more level grade. It’s cheaper to make the road grade rise and fall because there’s less concrete involved in the varying height of supports. Thank you both. That makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9327 "2022-10-08T18:10:19Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > To link to image: > > 1. Right-click or tap-and-hold the picture. > 2. Choose “view in separate tab” > 3. Go to that tab > 4. Copy the URL > 5. Paste here Thanks, John. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/9328 "2022-10-08T18:12:06Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > exiting times we are living I’m hoping this is auto-correct speaking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037.md?page=462) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037.md?page=464)