Traffic has resumed on the Kerch bridge, known widely as the Crimea bridge, hours after it was partially destroyed by a truck explosion on Saturday evening.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin told reporters that “traffic has been fully restored” on the bridge’s railway, according to state news agency Ria Novosti, without specifying when operations resumed.
Khusnullin had confirmed that the resumption is for “both freight and passenger traffic” in an earlier post on Telegram, and said one of the destroyed lanes would be restored “in the near future”.
Local officials had said earlier in the day that the bridge had been re-opened to motor traffic, with vehicles subject to stringent screening, while rail operator Grand Services Express said the first trains had left the Crimean peninsula for Moscow and St Petersburg.
Around dawn on Saturday, 8th October 2022, a blast hit the 19km bridge linking Russia with Crimea, killing three people, setting several oil tankers ablaze and collapsing two car lanes, according to a statement by Russian Investigators.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the incident was proof of the “terrorist nature” of the regime in Ukraine.
Following the explosion, Putin on Saturday decreed tighter security for the bridge and the infrastructure supplying electricity and natural gas to Crimea, and ordered an investigation. He ordered the Federal Security Service (FSB) to take charge of security measures for the strategic bridge.
The explosion drew celebrations from Ukrainians and others on social media. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not mention it in his nightly address, and Ukrainian officials made no claim of responsibility.
While Zelensky spoke of a “sunny” future for Ukrainians, one without occupiers, “in particular in the Crimea,” his adviser Mykhailo Podolyak appeared to suggest that Moscow had a hand in the blast.
“It is worth noting that the truck that detonated, according to all indications, entered the bridge from the Russian side. So the answers should be sought in Russia,” he said.
Podolyak followed this with a tweet on Saturday, stating that the blast was “just the beginning,” adding that “everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine.”
As the only bridge between the peninsula and mainland Russia, the Kerch Bridge is a vital transport and supply artery, serving as the easiest and fastest route for delivering essential goods and fuel.
Ordinary people have made good use of the infrastructure as well. The regional government said early last month that this year alone 3.3 million tourists had visited Crimea, a popular summer holiday spot, and a record 1.2 million vehicles had crossed the bridge.
It’s also important for the military, because it allows for columns of tanks, artillery guns and other heavy equipment to be brought in quickly by rail. The Defense Ministry said on Saturday that the supply of troops will continue uninterrupted by both land and sea.
There were no bridges between Crimea and the rest of Russia in 2014, when Crimea voted to leave Ukraine and become a part of the Russian Federation. Shortly afterwards, Moscow unveiled plans for the project.
After four years and for a cost of 228 billion rubles (US$3.7 billion), the bridge was opened with great fanfare by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018.
The road section was launched in May 2018, while rail service became fully operational in 2020.
President Putin describe it at the time as “a symbol of Crimea’s reunification with Russia,” as well as a driver of the peninsula’s economy.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
