Ukraine Mocks Russia as Crimean Bridge Hit by Explosion

The Ukrainian government has mocked Vladimir Putin after a huge explosion tore through the strategically vital Kerch Strait Bridge, which connects Russia with Russian-occupied Crimea.

Video from the scene showed a section of the road bridge has partially collapsed into the sea, while a train passing along the parallel rail bridge was turned into an inferno, causing apparent structural damage.

Russian officials said the incident was caused by a lorry exploding, though this hasn't been independently verified.

While Ukraine has not officially claimed responsibility for the explosion, prominent Ukrainian officials celebrated the incident on social media.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, tweeted: "Crimea, the bridge, the beginning. Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled."

The official Ukrainian government Twitter account simply said: "sick burn."

Ukraine's Defense Ministry added: "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?"

The Moskva, previously flagship of the Russian Black Sea fleet, was sunk in April by Ukrainian anti-ship missiles.

Vladimir Putin celebrated his 70^th birthday on Friday, and Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, tweeted a split-screen video showing the bridge ablaze alongside American actress Marilyn Monroe singing "Happy Birthday."

Russia seized and annexed Crimea in 2014, in a move rejected by the U.S., EU and the U.K., and construction of the bridge began in 2016, with the road section being inaugurated in 2018 and the rail section in 2019.

Dr Mike Martin, a visiting fellow at King's College London's Department of War Studies, told Newsweek that the explosion will hit Russian logistics and intensify infighting in Moscow.

Martin said: "The downing of the Kerch Bridge is going to have a huge effect on Russian logistics, and obviously logistics are super-important in war. There's only one other rail link to supply Russian forces in Crimea and in Kherson, and that's within artillery range of the Ukrainians and it runs just north of Melitopol.

"Strategically or symbolically, Putin's totally tied up with this bridge. He inaugurated it by driving across it. Already, there's a feeding frenzy, a blame game, going on in Moscow, and this is perfectly timed to pour fuel onto that feeding frenzy."

Over the past few weeks, Ukrainian forces have been advancing on the key southern city of Kherson, which has been under Russian occupation since early March.

Russian troops risk being trapped on the north side of the Dnieper River, with Ukraine using multiple rocket launchers to hit bridges and other crossing-points.

In September, a Ukrainian offensive routed Russian forces around the northern city of Kharkiv, during which they inflicted heavy losses.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.