Moscow appoints a new commander of its forces in Ukraine

A truck bomb explodes on the bridge linking Russia and Crimea

Smoke rises from fuel tanks after the explosion.

AFP

A large explosion caused by a truck bomb stopped the movement of the Crimean Bridge, the main facility and symbol of the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of the same name to Russia, and the explosion set fire to a number of fuel tanks in one of the trains and disrupted traffic on the bridge, while Moscow announced the appointment of New commander of Russian forces in Ukraine.

Footage of the bridge, circulated on the Internet, showed the railway on fire along dozens of meters and a collapsed part of the road, and Russian investigators announced the killing of three passengers in a car that was traveling near the truck at the time of the explosion. It confirmed that it had identified the owner of the truck, a resident of the Krasnodar region in southern Russia.

This bridge was built on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin to link the Crimea, which Moscow declared annexation in 2014, and is used especially to transport military equipment for the Russian army fighting in Ukraine. Putin instructed the government to form a government commission to investigate the truck explosion.

Russian news agencies reported that rail and road traffic was stopped after the accident, and ferries were operated to cross, and later the authorities in Crimea announced the resumption of car traffic on the bridge a few hours after the explosion.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the explosion, but several Ukrainian officials commented on what happened and even announced their intention to issue a postage stamp to celebrate it.

"Everything illegal must be destroyed and everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine," Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mikhailo Podolyak said on Twitter.

Ukrainian reactions prompted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to comment, describing these responses as "the terrorist nature of the Ukrainian authorities."

For its part, the Russian army, which is facing difficulties on the Kherson front in southern Ukraine, confirmed that the supplies of its forces are not threatened, and announced that "the supply is carried out continuously and completely along a land corridor and partly by sea."

The leader of the peninsula, Sergei Aksyonov, tried to reassure the residents by saying that Crimea has enough fuel reserves for a month and food for two months, and confirmed that repair work began yesterday, while the Russian official for the Kherson region adjacent to the Crimea, Kirill Strimosov, said that the repairs may take two months. .

In addition, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu issued a decision yesterday appointing General Sergei Sorovikin as the commander of the Russian forces in the region of "special military operations", that is, the commander of all Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.

Sorovikin has been in command of the Russian Air Force since October 31, 2017, and has also commanded the Southern Russian Forces in the Special Operations Area.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian state nuclear energy company (Ennergoatum) and the International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations said yesterday that bombing during the night caused a blackout in the Russian-controlled Zaporozhye nuclear plant in Ukraine, forcing the plant to turn into generators. emergency propellant.

Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of bombing the site of Europe's largest nuclear plant, destroying buildings and threatening a nuclear disaster, and the IAEA is pressing for a safe zone to prevent further bombing.

Although the six reactors in Zaporizhia have been closed, the nuclear fuel there still needs to be cooled to prevent nuclear meltdown.

This requires a constant source of electrical power.

The agency quoted its director general, Rafael Grossi, as saying in a statement: "The resumption of the bombing that hit the plant's only external energy source is a highly irresponsible act.

The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant must be protected.”

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