The New York Times is reporting that a “senior Ukrainian official” has confirmed that Ukraine’s government was behind the huge explosion that destroyed the bridge linking Crimea and Russia.
As Slay News reported, a truck bomb attack in the early hours of Saturday morning destroyed the 12-mile Kerch Strait Bridge’s roadside.
The blast caused seven fuel tanks on the railway bridge which runs alongside it to ignite.
The explosion, which killed three civilians, sent huge clouds of smoke into the sky as a blaze raged, causing two road spans of the bridge to collapse and scorching part of the railway.
Security camera footage has emerged that shows the moment the truck exploded.
WATCH:
https://twitter.com/rentvchannel/status/1578636991574556674
“A senior Ukrainian official corroborated Russian reports that Ukraine was behind the attack,” the New York Times reported.
“The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of a government ban on discussing the blast, added that Ukraine’s intelligence services had orchestrated the explosion, using a bomb loaded onto a truck being driven across the bridge.”
“It was unclear if the driver of the truck, who died in the blast, was aware there were explosives inside,” the NYT report adds.
“In video captured by a surveillance camera on the bridge, a huge fireball is seen, seeming to consume several vehicles.
“A small sedan and a tractor-trailer truck driving side by side appear at the epicenter of the blast.
“The explosion caused two sections of the bridge to partly collapse.”
Russian media identified the truck driver as 51-year-old Mahir Yusubov of Azerbaijan.
Reports note that Yusubov was likely unaware that he was carrying explosives.
https://twitter.com/OsintTv/status/1578777596929576960
Yusubov reportedly received an order to transport fertilizer through the internet and may have had his truck wired with explosives by Ukrainian special-ops units who used him as an unwitting suicide bomber.
The driver of the truck that exploded on the Crimean bridge received an order to transport fertilizer via the internet, a source in law enforcement told RBK.
According to the source, the driver was not aware of the planned attack.
— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) October 8, 2022
“There is no doubt, this is an act of terrorism aimed at destroying critically important civilian infrastructure,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday in response to the attack.
“This was devised, carried out, and ordered by the Ukrainian special services.”
Putin: The attack on the Crimean bridge is a terrorist act against Russian critical civilian infrastructure perpetrated by Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/0q6Ze7YE54
— Putin Direct (@PutinDirect) October 9, 2022
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky taunted Russia over the bombing with a tongue-in-cheek weather report.
“Today was a good and mostly sunny day in our country,” Zelensky said.
“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,” he continued.
“This is the future without invaders, on all our territory, in particular in Crimea.”
https://twitter.com/AZgeopolitics/status/1579125144374894592
Ukraine’s national security chief, Oleksiy Danilov posted a video of the blown-up bridge alongside a video of Marilyn Monroe singing happy birthday to US president John F. Kennedy in 1962.
Friday was Putin’s 70th birthday.
Доброго ранку, Україно!
pic.twitter.com/UQMI6LheSR
— Oleksiy Danilov (@OleksiyDanilov) October 8, 2022
Russian media identified two victims of the bombing as “a husband-and-wife team of tour guides from St. Petersburg” who made YouTube videos on Russian history.
“The victims of the attack were Eduard, 53, and Zoya, 33, who were husband and wife, Mash wrote,” RT reported.
“Zoya was a professional historian and journalist, while Eduard specialized in the history and architecture of St. Petersburg.
“They created two YouTube channels in 2020, where they had begun publishing documentaries.
“The channels currently only feature a series about the last Russian emperor, Nikolai II, and his family titled: ‘The Last Romanovs. The fall of the empire.’”
