Zhdanov: Ukrainian Forces Found Weak Spot Of Crimean Bridge
- 18.07.2023, 8:02
More attacks will follow.
Military expert and reserve colonel Oleh Zhdanov gave an interview to Glavred and assessed the damages of the Crimean Bridge:
– The political effect will be greater than the military one since only the motorway of the bridge was destroyed. Its railway is safe and more attacks will follow.
The Crimean Bridge is of great importance for Russia. A huge system of protection and defence was created to protect the bridge. They put mirrors and corner reflectors there, and they did everything on this bridge to make it safe. Moreover, in my opinion, the traffic jams that have now formed on both sides at the entrances to the bridge are a human shield for the bridge. The Russian authorities know that we will not fire on civilians, so they may well have deliberately created a shortage in the capacity of the bridge. After all, everything depends on the bridge security services: if they gave the command to conduct a thorough inspection, that’s all, a line of 13 km will appear.
But anyway, Ukraine has found a weak, vulnerable spot of the bridge. Please note that there was a strike against the central arch, in a place where the minimum number of cars. The Russians regulate the load on the bridge carefully, and cars pass through it quite fast and spaced.
The 145th pillar of the bridge, which was attacked, is almost at the central arch. It is almost the highest point of the bridge, so it will be extremely difficult to repair it. After the first attack, recovery was less problematic: near Kerch, the height of the bridge span was only a few meters above sea level.
The Crimean Bridge is closed now. And it is not yet clear (this is carefully classified) how much the railway line was damaged by the blast wave. It is known that one span fell and broke, and the second one came off the pillar. Approximately the same situation as the last time. We do not yet know the level of damage to the support: if the damage is significant, then traffic along the railway line may also stop.
In any case, the attack on the Crimean Bridge should make it clear to Russia, firstly, that we will not stop in the liberation of our territories, secondly, that there are no invulnerable objects on its territory, and thirdly, that for the Russians (who are still following Russian propaganda ideas) this should be proof that Crimea is an unsafe place to relax.
After all, the queues near the bridge were formed due to the fact that Russian propaganda tells the Russians: “Go to Crimea. There is the sun and the sea, everything is so cool there. We defeated and killed everyone. Shoigu says thousands of tanks have been burned. The Armed Forces of Ukraine no longer exist, and only mercenaries remain there. So go and relax." But at the same time, they forget to mention that there is a roar in Sevastopol, because air defence works regularly at night, and there are constant explosions at military facilities in other cities. Explosions - at military facilities, but windows are being knocked out everywhere. But the Russians still come and think they are safe.
I liked one video that appeared after the explosion: there was a traffic jam, and people from one of the cars asked a police officer where to go: “How do I know? Go home or take the ferry. I did not drive you here. You came here on your own." But the ferry does not work properly, they were not able to restore it for a year now.
– In any case, let the railway line of the Crimean Bridge wait for new greetings.
– Yes, there’ll be new attacks. And it’s likely that the railway of the bridge will be the next target.