‘Suicide mission’: Ukraine suspected of bombing Russian bridge as theories emerge

Ukraine’s President wasted no time taunting Russia after Vladimir Putin’s “favourite bridge” went up in flames on Saturday, as two theories behind the explosion emerge.

Ukrainian commandos could have used an enormous truck bomb or a suicide drone to blow up Vladimir Putin’s favourite bridge.

Russia is fuming after a massive gaping hole was blown in the $5.6 billion Kerch Bridge — a highly symbolic link between Vlad’s mainland and annexed Crimea, The Sun reports.

Incredible video and pictures show the size of the blast which collapsed part of the road and set fire to a fuel train on the adjacent railway line.

It is a hammer blow to Russia’s already disastrous war effort in Ukraine as it cripples part of their supply chain and shows just how the far the reach of Kyiv’s military has grown.

Black smoke billows from a fire on the Kerch bridge that links Crimea to Russia, after a truck exploded on October 8, 2022. Picture: AFP

People look at thick black smoke rising from a fire on the Kerch bridge. Picture: Roman Dmitriyev / AFP

Zelensky’s taunt after Crimea explosion

Volodymyr Zelensky wasted no time in following up this news with a comical weather report.

During his nightly video address on Telegram, the Ukrainian leader quipped that the conditions were “cloudy in Crimea”.

President Zelensky said: “Today was a good and mostly sunny day in our country.

“Over most of the territory, it was about 20 degrees Celsius and sunny.

“Unfortunately, it was cloudy in Crimea, although it was still warm. But however the clouds are, Ukrainians know what to do, and they know that our future is sunny.

“This is the future without invaders, on all our territory, in particular in Crimea.”

Two leading theories behind explosion

The exact cause of the explosion remains unknown.

But the leading theory at the moment — and the allegation being levied by Russia — is the explosion was triggered by a truck bomb.

CCTV of the explosion shows the blast on the roadway seemingly centred around a large semi truck.

Russian authorities have also released pictures of a red big rig which they claim was responsible for the explosion.

Camera footage from the bridge also shows the truck stopping at a checkpoint before being allowed to pass onto the Kerch Bridge.

And fuming Putin’s security services have also named the truck’s alleged owner, Samir Yusubov, from Krasnodar, Russia.

Russian Investigative Committee investigators working on the Kerch bridge. Picture: Russian Investigative Committee / AFP

Moscow vowed to find the perpetrators, without immediately blaming Ukraine. Picture: Russian Investigative Committee / AFP

“I’ve got nothing to do with what happened on the Crimean bridge,” he told BAZA media.

He suggested his dad’s cousin, Makhir, could have been behind the wheel and said he’s been unreachable since the explosion.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) — Kyiv’s secret service that operates a special forces unit — were reported to have been behind the blast by leading Ukrainian outlet Pravda.

The SBU has not yet commented on the claims.

Ukraine have not claimed responsibility for the attack — but have widely celebrated the explosion and have previously hinted they would attack the Kerch Bridge.

Kyiv’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has also said “answers should be sought from Russia”.

The truck — whose driver has not been named — drove onto the 11 mile long bridge from Russia, not Crimea.

Further elaborations of the truck bomb theory from pro-Putin commentator Yuri Podolyaka claimed it could have been a remotely controlled explosion planted by the Ukrainians.

He suggested the driver may have been “in the dark” about the “deadly cargo” they were carrying in the trailer — or it could have been a deliberate suicide mission.

Tony Spamer, a former British Army expert on bridge demolitions, cast doubt on the truck bomb theory when speaking to the Wall Street Journal.

He explained such as blunt instrument blast would have blown a whole in the road, but not triggered a structural collapse.

“You’ve got to attack the whole width of the bridge. Looking at it, it looks like it was attacked from underneath.,” said Spamer.

“It’s a monster job.”

The blast also ignited the nearby fuel train further damaging the bridge — even as Russia boast they plan to reopen it today to both rail and road traffic.

Other theories on the strike however point to a mysterious shape moving beneath the bridge caught on CCTV moments before the explosion.

It has been suggested this could be a bomb laden suicide drone.

And just weeks ago a mysterious black boat washed up outside the home of Putin’s Black Sea Fleet, Sevastopol.

A Russian police officer inspects a car as people wait to take the ferry after a truck exploded and heavily damaged the Kerch bridge. Picture: AFP

People wait in their cars for the ferry. Picture: AFP

Fears of Putin retaliation

There were suggestions Putin may address the nation on the bridge explosion amid fears he will unleash more havoc on Ukraine and has already hinted that he could use nuclear weapons.

Russia’s investigate committee said it had “initiated a criminal case in connection with the incident on the Crimean bridge,” adding that “a truck was blown up”.

It comes as Ukraine in recent days has grown more confident in predicting they will retake the Crimean Peninsula.

Ukraine’s gains however only stoke fears that Putin could do something stupid to try and save face.

Celebrations of the advances have been muted though after US President Joe Biden warned the world was on the brink of a nuclear “Armageddon” for the first time in 60 years.

The US president said Putin was “not joking” about nuking Ukraine as the Russian tyrant’s forces continue to lose massive swathes of territory.

In a chilling warning, Biden said Putin’s plan to unleash nuclear weapons is the biggest such threat since the Cuban missile crisis - one of the most dangerous periods of the Cold War.

The Cuban missile crisis erupted in 1962 when the Soviet Union responded to a US missile deployment in Turkey by sending ballistic missiles to Cuba - just miles from the US coastline.

It sparked a tense two-week standoff that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.

Speaking on Thursday night, Biden said the United States was “trying to figure out” Putin’s way out of the war as Ukraine continues to blitz across the country.

He warned the Russian leader was “not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons, because his military is … significantly underperforming”.

“For the first time since the Cuban missile crisis, we have a direct threat to the use of nuclear weapons, if in fact things continue down the path they’d been going,” said Biden.

“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis.”

He added: “I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily (use) a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was recreated here with permission.