October 8, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

The explosion on Russia's bridge to Crimea not only strikes a blow against Russia's military effort in Ukraine, it's also a psychological blow to Moscow and a major propaganda victory for Ukraine. 

Russia began constructing the enormous 19-kilometer (about 12-mile) bridge over the Kerch Strait, spending an estimated $3.7 billion, after Moscow illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. It was the physical expression of Russian President Vladimir Putin's objective to take over Ukraine and bind it to Russia forever. The day it opened, he led a triumphant convoy over the bridge, driving a truck festooned with flags. 

Russia's propaganda industry went into overdrive, even producing a romantic comedy about the bridge called "The Crimean Bridge, Made with Love," a rom-com about two guys working on building the bridge pursuing the same cute archaeology student. The screenplay was written by Margarita Simonyan, the head of Russia's main international propaganda TV channel RT.

The attack took place the day after Putin turned 70, and Ukraine's Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov published video of the bridge in flames, with a huge section of the roadway collapsing into the water, alongside a parallel video of Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday, Mister President." Others online compared the bridge attack to Ukraine's April sinking of the Russian Navy's warship the Moskva.

Putin's government scrambled to insist that the damage was under control and would be repaired quickly. The state news agency TASS avoided the word "attack," reporting that a team of 380 responders, along with 90 pieces of equipment, was dispatched to "eliminate the consequences of the emergency" on the bridge. The Russian Transport Ministry said the railway section of the bridge, vital for bring troops and equipment for the war effort, would be restored by Saturday evening. Russia's Investigative Committee immediately launched a criminal investigation.

Online, Ukraine was triumphant about striking such a key Russian military and symbolic objective. And Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak warned there could be more attacks ahead in a tweet, saying "everything occupied by Russia must be expelled." 

The Russian Defense Ministry has announced the appointment of a new commander for what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, according to Russian state media.

The ministry said that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has approved the appointment of Gen. Sergey Surovikin as commander of Russia's "Joint Grouping of Forces" in Ukraine. 

Russian state news agency TASS said the ministry's spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, made the announcement Saturday.

Who is Surovikin? The appointment for Surovikin, who turns 55 on Oct. 11, is the latest promotion in a military career that began in 1983. He's served in several conflicts and faced sanctions by the European Union.

Surovikin first saw service in Afghanistan before commanding a unit in the Second Chechen War. He has also served as head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.

He commanded several motorized rifle divisions and was instrumental in Russia's operations in Syria, when Russian combat aircraft caused widespread devastation in rebel-held areas. In 2017, he was appointed commander in chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces and was promoted to be an Army general last year. 

While in Syria, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.

He was sanctioned by the European Union in February this year in his capacity as head of the Aerospace Forces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russian troops in southern Ukraine will be resupplied by sea and land corridor, following Saturday's explosion on the Kerch bridge, the country's Ministry of Defense said.

Strategic importance: The Russian military has used the bridge extensively to resupply its forces in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. It's unclear how long the road and rail bridges across the Kerch Strait will be out of service.

The Ministry said on its Telegram channel: "The provision of the Russian group of troops involved in the special military operation in the Nikolaev-Krivoy Rog and Zaporozhye [Ukrainian: Mykolaiv - Kryvyi Rih - Zaporizhzhia] operational directions is carried out continuously in full along the land corridor and partially by sea transport."

Ukraine recaptures territory in south: Kyiv is successfully pushing ahead in its campaign to retake parts of southern and eastern Ukraine that Russia captured in the initial weeks of the war.

The Ukrainian military has recaptured 2,400 square kilometers of territory in Kherson region in the south of the country “since the beginning of the full-scale war,” a senior Ukrainian official said Friday.

In a major blow for Russia, at least one explosion has severely damaged the Kerch bridge connecting the annexed Crimean peninsula with the Russian Federation.

The explosion early Saturday caused parts of Europe’s longest bridge to collapse, according to images and video from the scene.

The exact cause of the explosion is unclear. Russian officials said a fuel truck exploded, but two spans of the road crossing in the direction of Crimea appear to have collapsed. A subsequent fire engulfed a train of fuel trucks on a separate part of the bridge.

Images of the Kerch bridge posted on social media appear to show a portion of the roadway of the vehicle and rail bridge had fallen into the waters below it. Flames could be seen burning from rail cars above.

Three dead: Russia's Investigative Committee says that preliminary information indicates three people were killed in the explosion.

Why is the bridge important? The bridge spans the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov, on which sit key Ukrainian ports, including Mariupol. For Russia, the bridge symbolizes the physical “reunification” of Crimea with the Russian mainland. The bridge carries much of Crimea’s needs – such as fuel and goods – and has been used regularly to supply weapons and fuel to Russian forces.

The aftermath: Major transport links between mainland Russia and the annexed peninsula of Crimea — including buses and trains — were suspended, following an explosion on Kerch bridge. Weather conditions in the Kerch Strait are hindering Russia’s plans to use ferries to reach Crimea from Krasnodar, according to Russian state media.

What has Ukraine said? Ukrainian officials have started responding to the fire without directly acknowledging that Ukraine was responsible for the explosion. Among the responses, the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on Facebook, “Air defense of the Russian Federation, are you sleeping?” alongside a video showing a section of the bridge’s road that had been completely destroyed.

In a brief post on its official Twitter account, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reacted to the explosion, saying: "The guided missile cruiser Moskva and the Kerch Bridge – two notorious symbols of Russian power in Ukrainian Crimea – have gone down. What’s next in line, Russkies?"

What is Russia's response? Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately ordered a “government commission” to examine the Kerch Bridge “emergency” in Crimea, Russian state media TASS reported, adding that the heads of Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Transport are now at the scene of the incident.

Russian officials suggest that the explosion was caused by a truck blowing up on the road bridge.

The spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative committee, Svetlana Petrenko, said the committee "has opened a criminal case about the incident at the Crimean Bridge. According to preliminary information, this morning a truck was blown up on the automobile part of the Crimean Bridge from the Taman Peninsula [the westbound lanes of the bridge], which led to the ignition of seven fuel tanks of a train travelling toward the Crimean Peninsula."

"As a result, two car lanes of the bridge partially collapsed."

The Committee also expanded on its earlier statement that a truck on the bridge had blown up.

According to Russia's Investigative Committee, the owner of the truck is resident of the Krasnodar Krai, and investigative actions have been launched at his place of residence. The route of movement of the vehicle and the relevant documentation are being studied, the committee added.

CNN is unable to verify the Russian explanation for the explosion.

Fire has damaged three fuel tanks in Ilovaisk in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region, according to a statement by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, following reports by Ukrainian officials that a cargo train was hit by a “powerful explosion.”

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations posted photos and video on its Telegram account showing firefighters dousing the fire at the Ilovaisk railway station on Saturday, and said the fire was a result of shelling by “Ukrainian militants.”

What happened? A cargo train in Ilovaisk in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region was hit by a “powerful explosion” Saturday morning local time, according to the adviser to the Mariupol Mayor Petro Andrushenko.

Pro-Russian authorities in the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic confirmed the incident, releasing video Saturday showing the fire’s aftermath at a local railway station. It is unclear yet if there were casualties in the blast.

At least three people were killed in the explosion on the Kerch bridge early Saturday, according to Russia's Investigative Committee, citing preliminary information.

In a statement on its Telegram channel, the Committee said: "According to preliminary information, three people died as a result of the incident. These are, presumably, the passengers of a car that was next to the blown-up truck.

"Currently, the bodies of two victims have already been taken from the water -- a man and a woman, their identities are being established."

The Committee also expanded on its earlier statement that a truck on the bridge had blown up.

"The investigators of the Russian Investigative Committee also established the data of the truck and its owner. This is a resident of the Krasnodar Krai, investigative actions have been launched at his place of residence. The route of movement of the vehicle and the relevant documentation are being studied."

Russian officials suggest that the explosion on the Kerch road and rail crossing between Russia and annexed Crimea was caused by a truck blowing up on the road bridge.

The spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative committee, Svetlana Petrenko, said the committee "has opened a criminal case about the incident at the Crimean Bridge. According to preliminary information, this morning a truck was blown up on the automobile part of the Crimean Bridge from the Taman Peninsula [the westbound lanes of the bridge], which led to the ignition of seven fuel tanks of a train travelling toward the Crimean Peninsula."

"As a result, two car lanes of the bridge partially collapsed."

CNN is unable to verify the Russian explanation for the explosion. Ukraine has not acknowledged that its armed forces were responsible for the explosion.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the favorable response among Ukrainian officials to the explosion, saying: "The reaction of the Kyiv regime to the destruction of civilian infrastructure testifies to its terrorist nature."

After US President Joe Biden warned that the world faces the highest prospect of nuclear war in 60 years, a senior administration official says there has been no shift in US nuclear posture.

While this official would not go so far as Biden in saying that the world faces the prospect of nuclear crisis for the first time since the 1960s, the official said that "the stakes are clearly higher right now" as a result of a string of military setbacks Russia is facing in Ukraine.

The official said Biden was speaking "frankly" based on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s "irresponsible and reckless" rhetoric, but not based on any new information about Russia's nuclear posture.

What Biden said Thursday night: During a Democratic fundraiser in New York, Biden delivered a stark warning about the dangers behind Putin’s nuclear threats as Moscow continues to face military setbacks in Ukraine.

“First time since the Cuban missile crisis, we have a direct threat of the use (of a) nuclear weapon if in fact things continue down the path they are going,” Biden warned. 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.”

It was striking for the President to speak so candidly, particularly at a fundraiser, while his aides from the National Security Council to the State Department to the Pentagon have spoken in much more measured terms, saying they take the threats seriously but don’t see movement on them from the Kremlin.

CNN's Sam Fossum, Kaitlan Collins and Paul LeBlanc contributed reporting to this post.

Weather conditions in the Kerch Strait are hindering Russia’s plans to use ferries to reach Crimea from Krasnodar, according to Russian state media.

“Weather conditions do not allow the launch of a ferry crossing from Crimea on October 8,” TASS said Saturday, citing “authorities.”

Earlier Saturday, major transport links between mainland Russia and the annexed peninsula of Crimea -- including buses and trains -- were suspended, following an explosion on Kerch bridge.

Prior to the weather warning, authorities had planned to use “at least four or five ferries” to organize communication between Crimea and Krasnodar according to TASS.