The train seems to have been put on fire by the explosion.
Could that have been premeditated (with GPS coordinate or timer)?
Or is it an happy coincidence?
And was the truck driver aware of the explosion? (before it exploded obviously)? If that’s the case, it will be a real kamikaze attack.
re: Kerch bridge explosion–
In this video (I hope link goes to the right place) it looks like a boat or something appears under the bridge right before the explosion.
Those Ukrainians really know how to rub it in.
As there are no windows to fall out off we’re going to have to go with someone got careless while smoking…
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.
That sounds plausible. If you have any clue what you’re doing you can stuff a freakin’ big bomb into a truck and as a bonus it blends into traffic just fine.
The bridge destruction is front page NYT and WaPo today, explaining its strategic and symbolic importance. It is a BIG win for Ukraine.
Presently it appears to be sabotage from below, timed to coincide with the crossing of a fuel train. Clearly not a missile strike.
A senior Ukrainian military official commented “Putin should be happy. It’s not everyone who gets such an expensive present for their birthday.”
Oh, my… there are epic levels of snark, then there are Ukrainian levels of snark…
This is starting to come across as something involving the Ukrainian versions of David Niven and Gregory Peck.
The cause of the explosion at a Petrol station in Northwest Ireland is currently being investigated. The Guardian’s headlines have this explosion set off to the right of the Kerch Bridge explosion.
That might be the cause of the explosion in Ireland.
With bridges on the “top of the mind” I cannot help but see a connection, as it were.
The Kerch bridge connecting mainland Russia to Crimea was a really big deal when it opened. Putin drove a Truck/Lorry across it in a grand display.
Regarding the threat made by Ukraine, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitriy Medvedev, said, “one of the hard-nosed Ukrainian chiefs spoke about the need to attack the Crimean bridge. I hope he understands what the target of retaliation will be.”
It would be really bad if another Petrol station in Ireland has an accident this weekend. Or if something happens in the skies above Kiev or Lviv or Odessa.
eta: wrapped dmitriy in blockquote
If it was a truck bomb that means it was a suicide bomber, right? I know Ukrainians are very invested in this war but, suicide bombs? Really?
Not necessarily. The driver could have parked on the shoulders, gotten away and set the bomb off remotely (or used a timer).
Plus, not having crossroads or even a lot of exits and entrances, the course could be driven by AI once the truck is on the bridge.
That can happen—like a Timothy McVey—but in this case the explosion appears to occur right where a moving truck is.
Does the footage show a truck exploding mid- movement, with nothing else nearby?
There’s multiple videos posted in the thread just a few posts up. Looks like a truck exploding to me, not a boat from under the bridge. None of the vehicles stopped and nobody got out that I could see.
There are a couple other cars nearby. Personally I found it odd that my instinctive reaction was putting myself in the position of the cars right behind the bomb. Now they have to turn around and drive the wrong way off the bridge. Even though the reason they have to do that is clearly and obviously compelling, driving the wrong way over a highway bridge is still a shit thing to have to do.
EDIT: Watching again, if the truck I think was the bomb actually was the bomb, there was a car right next to it when it detonated. Yikes.
Also, I’m downgrading my confidence to around 99% that it was the truck as opposed to a boat below the bridge.
I don’t necessarily think this was caused by a truck bomb. I was only commenting that if it was, it was likely a suicide bomber, and doesnt that seem odd for the Ukrainians?
Explosion Shuts Crucial Bridge Between Crimea and Russia Crimea Bridge Explosion Disrupts Crucial Supply Route for Russian Forces - WSJ
WSJ article suggests a ship bomb.
Russia’s national antiterrorism committee said the damage was caused by the predawn explosion of a truck on the bridge’s roadway next to a supply train that was carrying fuel. Some demolition experts who analyzed footage of the blast said it appeared that a boat exploded under the bridge.
It also says there might be significant retaliation
Russian officials in recent months repeatedly warned of severe consequences should Kyiv try to strike the bridge. Former President Dmitry Medvedev said in July that hitting Crimea would cause “an immediate judgment day.”
ETA: Possible misinformation. If verified, will repost.
That looks like Kerch Bridge, but I don’t think that’s today’s incident. Other visual evidence shows that today’s incident happened while it was still dark.
If it was the truck, it was traveling west, from Russia to Crimea, and the explosion was just east of the raised span (ship passage section). Anyone headed from Russia into Crimea would have a rather long drive back.
So, more civilian targets, one guesses. Because they are throwing everything they have at military targets and going backward. Killing the defenseless is what they do best.