Bridge connecting Russia and Crimea collapses after explosion and fire - ABC News:
An explosion has rocked the sole road and rail link between Russia and Crimea, with video showing a fuel tanker burning and part of the Kerch Bridge collapsing into the sea.
An investigative committee says three people were killed in the incident, believed to be passengers of the car that was near the truck when it exploded.
Investigators have recovered the bodies and are working to identify them.
They have also established the details of the truck and its owner, registered in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, and have begun searching his place of residence.
Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee said that the truck bomb caused seven railway cars carrying fuel to catch fire, resulting in a "partial collapse of two sections of the bridge".
The committee didn't immediately apportion blame.
Ukrainian media said the blast on the bridge happened at about 6am local time.
The bridge, a $US3.6 billion ($5.7 billion) project is a tangible symbol of Moscow's claims on Crimea.
Also see reporting from lots of sites, including:
- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63183404
- https://www.france24.com/en/video/20221008-crimean-bridge-fire
- https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-repair-crimea-kerch-bridge-explosion/
Is anyone in our community able to suggest how easily (or otherwise) the bridge and railway might be repaired?
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Monday October 10 2022, @04:34AM (4 children)
It could have been an attack from the underside [bbc.com].
(Score: 4, Interesting) by janrinok on Monday October 10 2022, @07:11AM (2 children)
We can speculate all we like - it will not change anything, nor will it gives us the answer. We may eventually be told the truth but I don't expect to hear it in the next few months, although statements might be issued be either or both sides.
My interest is more towards its repair, and I acknowledge more recent reporting saying that 'rail services and partial road traffic had resumed'. There is other reporting that they have had to re-institute a ferry service [maritime-executive.com] for vehicles that are 'too heavy' to use the bridge, and the rail service is limited to commuter trains suggesting that this is a case of trying to save face rather than admit the extent of the damage. If only light traffic and rail services are possible then the damage may have been sufficient to achieve the intended aim.
Without doubt it will have some effect on the sustainability of the Russian forces in Crimea and southern Ukraine, hence my question.
Resupply by sea is possible but the Russians reduced that significantly when they suffered damage to their naval component. If they do increase the maritime resupply then they will have to protect it and that could mean a return of Russian warships into the range of Ukrainian missile systems. They might be reluctant to do that. Additionally, the aircraft that had previously been used to protect the ships have also been destroyed in Crimea. They can, of course, be replaced but that will also leave them vulnerable to some forms of attack.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday October 10 2022, @12:43PM
Why would anyone (except Putin) want the bridge repaired?
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday October 10 2022, @12:59PM
Your fine point aside, i DO find it interesting speculating in how it could have been done. I think the whole floating a boat beneath it and blowing it up from below is fascinating, Captain, and the bow wave could have been a bomb-boat.
Anyways, Russia has been stymied and slowed again. It seems Putin had "a cunning plan": maybe Baldrick works for HIM now?
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by zocalo on Monday October 10 2022, @08:01AM
I don't think we'll need to wait too long for a firm answer on this though; there's surely got to be a massive difference in how the destroyed bridge is going to look if the road surface was shattered from a blast from below or forced down by a blast from above, especially if you can see which way the rebar in the road bed as been bent. Or the road sections turn out to be mostly intact and it's actually one of the support struts that had been destroyed, which would also make a truck bomb unlikely. Who was responsible and how they did it might take a little longer, but it sure has the trappings of a movie at some point (even if they have to make all the preamble to the blast up).
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Monday October 10 2022, @04:49AM (4 children)
I'd rather turn the question into "How hard it would be to defend it?". Which depends on the vector of attack that showed success this time [soylentnews.org].
In any case [abc.net.au]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 4, Interesting) by quietus on Monday October 10 2022, @06:57AM (3 children)
The question, ofcourse, being about the structural integrity of the remaining half. Noteworthy, there, that the Russians were quick to claim that the bridge is open again for both cars and buses, and had to retract to the bridge only being open for cars: buses and trucks should take the ferry.
That is still the situation, with as additional detail that one of the 2 ferries serving that link can only carry light trucks. And then there are the comforting noises that there's no need for panick buying, the Krim has food supplies for 55 days. It would be interesting to find a local Telegram channel for the Krim.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Opportunist on Monday October 10 2022, @08:04AM (2 children)
Translation: Peasant, use the bridge to show off that it's safe!
Anything important like cargo should be ferried.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by zocalo on Monday October 10 2022, @10:17AM (1 child)
When structures in the west get damaged there is generally a lengthy period of complete closure while suitable structural integrity checks and repairs are carried out, regardless of how much disruption is caused, which can often take weeks for kinetic impacts by vehicles and the like, let alone what might be needed for a large explosion like this. Even with Russia's poor track record of looking out for the welfare of their people, I doubt they'll be trusting anything valuable to it - e.g. anything related to the military - until that is done, and even so will be very much minding the stress they place on the structure lest it collapse entirely. I wouldn't be at all surprised if once this has dropped out of the news, they cease all traffic other than what is needed for inspection and repair, just in case they make things worse.
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Tuesday October 11 2022, @06:46PM
The PR stunt was lobbing dozens of missiles in every part of Ukraine in a 24 hour period. I'd like to see someone give Ukraine a missile that could reach the Kremlin, you'd see some negotiations then!
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 2, Redundant) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Monday October 10 2022, @08:12AM (23 children)
Yeah, I'm in the community and here's my assessment:
- First, stop the war
- Second, throw billions at it to fix it
What a stupid question...
(Score: 4, Insightful) by janrinok on Monday October 10 2022, @08:34AM (16 children)
Well that answered all the possible questions:
Engineers might be able to offer some approximate timelines, assessments or even WAGs (wild assed guesses). You obviously cannot.
What a stupid answer.....
(Score: 2) by Rosco P. Coltrane on Monday October 10 2022, @08:41AM (9 children)
No they won't, because
Can the engineers predict that one?
Cuz I guarantee you, nobody will invest money to fix that thing as long as one or the other warring party sees its destruction as a way to hamper the adversary.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by janrinok on Monday October 10 2022, @12:19PM (8 children)
They don't have to wait for the war to finish. Just protect it the way that they claimed that they had. Until now there had been no fighting anywhere near the bridge and I don't see that situation changing anytime soon. The chance of another successful attack is significantly reduced although never zero.
Moscow will raise the money somehow - they cannot afford not to at this stage. They might simply tell the oligarchs and big business to provide it (with a little gentle persuasion and perhaps the odd open window) or they might feel that they would rather borrow it at exorbitant rates. Putin cannot let this go without losing considerable prestige, and perhaps his position and power, by not taking action to demonstrate the mighty Russia's capabilities.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Immerman on Monday October 10 2022, @01:11PM (7 children)
He also probably can't put the screws to the oligarchs without jeopardizing his position (and life).
After all, personally he has no more power than any other man (with decades of KGB experience). His power comes from the network of support by the oligarchs and other powerful people. A dictator's position is never more secure than his support among his generals/oligarchs/etc. And it sounds like this whole Ukrainian fiasco has been burned through enough good will that they're starting to speak out against him publicly. Not least of which because he's put on international display how decades of unchecked corruption has gutted their military, without his knowledge, while throwing away the lives of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers and who knows how much value in military hardware to accomplish little else besides wanton destruction.
The diplomatic aspects of the war has already been lost - rather than striking fear into Russia's other neighbors to keep them away from NATO, he's driven them straight into their arms. Even famously neutral Sweden. Simple imperialism is all that remains possible, and that's not looking good.
And now he's drafting hundreds of thousands of citizens to throw them into the meat grinder? And talking about nuclear escalation in a "liberation"? Kind of hard to maintain the narrative when you start talking about nuking the people you're supposedly trying to free from Nazi oppression. I could very well see this explosion being a domestic "objection". Assuming it was actually intentional and not just a combination of bad luck and incompetence - it did look like their were some big fuel tanks present at the explosion.(Possibly trucks? Couldn't tell from the angle of the video I saw)
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday October 10 2022, @02:06PM (6 children)
Or at least without leaving a trail of bodies [soylentnews.org] like a homicidal snail.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday October 10 2022, @04:50PM (5 children)
Nope.
He can get away with that for a few problem individuals, but a king's power always depends on the support of his nobles. Depose to many at once and his own power collapses. If enough of them take issue with the king's actions, he either gets in line, or gets dead. (For Americans, the signing of the Magna Carta at swordpoint is perhaps the most relevant example)
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday October 10 2022, @10:18PM (4 children)
15 mysterious deaths that we know about so far this year. That's a lot of supposedly powerful problem individuals. The real problem here is that your nobility class model just doesn't work. Oligarchs have some power, but they aren't going to be overthrowing any governments Putin doesn't want overthrown. It's the Russian government where the real power lies, particularly the military and intelligence agencies. Those aren't an aristocracy.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday October 10 2022, @11:09PM (3 children)
Out of how many hundreds?
Those are exactly an aristocracy. Whether you call them oligarchs, generals, or nobility, they are the powerful people who control the government and economy. Putin has only so much power as they wield on his behalf. Yes, "The government" has the power, but the King is NOT the government, he's one small man standing on top of a mountain of others. And he only remains there so long as the mountain approves. Bureaucratic inertia (and the desire not to be one of the problem individuals) can keep things in line up to a point, but only up to a point.
“Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason?
Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
― John Harrington
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday October 10 2022, @11:58PM (2 children)
It just means that Putin didn't need to kill a lot of oligarchs to get the rest in line.
I wouldn't call oligarchs, "generals". You're conflating very different groups. For example, nobility is hereditary. Oligarchy isn't especially in a chaotic place like Russia where many of these fortunes were made within a couple of decades and require government approval to continue to exist. Finally, generals would be closer to a meritocracy.
Of course, there's an elite running things. Nobody disagrees with that. What I mostly disagree with is the assumption that the oligarchs are the elite in question running things. It's a common assumption that those with wealth are the same set as those with power. But this murder spree indicates otherwise no matter how much you compare it to the Magna Carta.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Tuesday October 11 2022, @01:44AM (1 child)
They're all people wielding large amounts of power and political networks in domains where the the king needs support to maintain his own power - which is all a noble really is once you cut through all the romance-era bullshit.
As for generals being a meritocracy - that's only true in a military that's been actively engaged on a regular basis so that merit can be determined, AND that isn't plagued by corruption or cronyism. Neither of which makes me thing "Russia". The USSR was a force to be reckoned with, but Russia isn't the USSR.
Killing a few percent of the elite isn't a murder spree, it's spring cleaning. More wealth and power for the survivors. Though perhaps vigorous enough to make the rest start worrying, and cultivating their own networks of allies be strong enough to organize a coup if it looks like their own necks may be on the line.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday October 11 2022, @02:59AM
And ignore the meaning of words. If you want a word to describe the ruling elite of Russia that doesn't have a meaning counter to your intent - use "ruling elite" not "nobles" nor "oligarchs".
Which is the same thing once you cut through the romance-era bullshit, right?
Comparing modern Russia to some Medieval era class structure isn't going to work. It's too different. And the narrative about Putin's alleged dependency on oligarchs ignores that he can shuffle that property around to a different set of oligarchs and has historically done that. That demonstrates who has the power in that relationship.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by zocalo on Monday October 10 2022, @10:39AM (4 children)
However, to do that would typically require a heavy engineering train with a crane and track parts be brought onto the bridge, unless they fancy attempting it from a barge moored alongside. That means they need to verify the structural stabilty, then fix any issues found - which needs to be done before any freight or passenger trains can run, regardless of how they repair it. That's completely open-ended at this stage as we have no idea what the state of the bridge structure is (and Russia certainly won't be saying if it's anything other than cosmetic damage), but a worst case scenario would be that they need to re-do the piling in which case several months would not be an unreasonable timescale given repairs would need to be done during the winter months. It's also unlikely they'd have pre-fabricated replacements for concrete parts, so those would need moulds creating, concrete poured and cured, brought to the installation site (heavy train or barge again), then put into place.
I think that there's a pretty good chance Crimea is going into winter without it's primary supply route being open.
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 1) by mexsudo on Monday October 10 2022, @02:20PM (1 child)
good info, your analysis is sound
however in this case the track itself was not damaged and the railway was back in full normal service in just a few hours.
(Score: 2) by zocalo on Monday October 10 2022, @05:30PM
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 4, Interesting) by SomeRandomGeek on Monday October 10 2022, @03:53PM (1 child)
I will point out that the entire 19km long bridge was built in 3 years and 5 months, from 2015 to 2018. From this I extrapolate that the time necessary to fix a short segment is limited more by the political will to order the nearest construction workers and equipment to drop everything and fix it than by anything structural. This is a great opportunity for Putin to be seen being an effective leader. He will make sure it gets fixed really fast.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_Bridge [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by zocalo on Monday October 10 2022, @05:20PM
Also, the images show a lot of heavy machinery (read "targets") being used for construction and getting things into place. If they were decomissioned and/or re-assigned elsewhere post completion of the bridge, there's going to be a logistical challenge just getting the necessary heavy lifting equipment back to the Black Sea; a bridge span isn't going to be something you can shuffle into place with a regular construction crane.
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 3, Informative) by kazzie on Monday October 10 2022, @10:59AM
I'm not a rail engineer by trade, nor am I anywhere near the bridge in question, but these events in my neck of the woods spring to mind for comparison purposes:
Britannia Tubular Rail Bridge fire, 1970 [bbc.co.uk]: burned intensely due to years of tar and weatherproofing added to the top of the wrought iron tubes, which could be seen to sag visibly afterward, and thus condemned as unsafe for rail traffic. (See the linked video for some before and after shots.) Rebuilt as an arch bridge in subsequent years, with the addition of a road deck. If not for all the wood and tar, it probably wouldn't have caught fire at all.
Llangennech derailment and fire [railengineer.co.uk]: a seized brake on a petrochemicals train led to an axle developing wheel flats, and derailing at a set of points (switches). Diesel oil leaked and caught fire, resulting in environmental damage, evacuation of the local area and a fire that burned for 33 hours. The track and substructure had to be rebuilt from scratch, and the (mainly freight) line reopened six months later [bbc.co.uk].
To my amateur eye, the limited scope of the fire on the train is the main reason they've been able to run rail services again so soon. The aerial images circulated show the damage is patently not as severe as at Llangennech. Being on an elevated track probably helped reduce the fire's impact, as some wagons' fuel leaks could have flown directly into the sea, instead of pooling under the train to catch fire later on. (If the attack was from below, the raised track may also have been further from the initial blast.)
I also note that the Kerch rail bridge is dual-tracked. They may well be using the other track only for the time being, pending repairs to the track where the train was. Operating the bridge with only a single track would be a significant drop in capacity, which could explain why a ferry service has been reinstated alongside it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 10 2022, @08:34AM
Someone got out on the wrong side of bed this morning?
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Monday October 10 2022, @08:42AM (3 children)
re-frame the question:
how easy will it be for the Russians to return the bridge to its former carrying capacity?
how long will it take (if it can be done)?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by fraxinus-tree on Monday October 10 2022, @09:58AM
Nope. It requires ceasefire. And without the military considerations, the bridge is economically pointless anyway.
(Score: 2) by legont on Monday October 10 2022, @11:25PM (1 child)
The bridge was carefully designed that all three ways - two cars and one train - would crash separately if attacked. One car and rail are opened already. The crashed car way will take 4-6 weeks to repair.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Tuesday October 11 2022, @10:44AM
(Score: 2) by Dr Spin on Monday October 10 2022, @08:49PM
I have always found duct tape to be a cheap solution in situations like this.
It may not work, but since when have politicians cared about a solution working, if it is cheap.
Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!
(Score: 0, Troll) by mexsudo on Monday October 10 2022, @11:20AM (5 children)
fake news.
the railway was not disabled, and was reopened in a couple hours, now back in regular service.
of the Two roadway bridges only One was damaged. vehicle traffic is active on the other.
(Score: 4, Informative) by janrinok on Monday October 10 2022, @12:23PM
The Russians themselves have said that the railway is only for local commuter traffic not heavy goods trains.
The roads currently cannot take heavy goods vehicles, some of which can go by ferry. The heaviest vehicles cannot use either at the present time.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Monday October 10 2022, @02:36PM (1 child)
So the railways was disabled for a couple of hours?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by isostatic on Monday October 10 2022, @06:24PM
Still look closed to me
https://twitter.com/PaulJawin/status/1579044809490436096 [twitter.com]
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Monday October 10 2022, @05:00PM
TFS says there was a "partial collapse of two sections of the bridge", which matches what I've seen in pictures: two sections of one of the road bridges. TFA itself only goes as far as saying:
Nothing there claimed that the rail bridge had been destroyed, only that there'd been a train on fire.
What I'd be interested in knowing is the extent of current rail operations: are they using both tracks, or is there repair required to the side where the train was on fire? A service on only one track means running at half capacity, unless you're able to flight several trains in the same direction.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday October 10 2022, @10:37PM
What about that burning fuel train? That fake news too?
(Score: 2, Offtopic) by VLM on Monday October 10 2022, @12:14PM (13 children)
Is the war over? All this "terrorism" talk seems to imply the war's over or a 3rd party did it.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Immerman on Monday October 10 2022, @01:23PM (2 children)
It seems terrorism has become the new label for guerrilla fighting, and not just by Russians. Just think of all the "terrorist attacks" we heard about against the American military occupation of Iraq.
Of course it's an even bigger stretch to label a direct (possible) attack against military infrastructure that way... but we redefined the word, we can hardly expect a criminal dictator not to run with it.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday October 11 2022, @06:37PM (1 child)
What was that guerrilla fighting targeting, if it wasn't military infrastructure? Protip: if it's targeting civilians without credible military value, which some, if not most of that guerilla fighting was, then it's terrorism by the definition of the word (paramilitary attacks against civilians) even if somehow the intent wasn't to terrorize some group.
Also, what's the point of this post? Russia isn't held back by the morality of the US government nor encouraged by its immorality. As you note, they stretched the phrase beyond what the US had allegedly been stretching. That indicates that whatever constraints the US was facing at the time, doesn't apply to Russia.
Further, a criminal dictator wouldn't just not talk about terrorism, if there was no existing term, they would invent their own.
This seems more of that peculiar desire to blame other peoples' evils and faults on the US.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Tuesday October 11 2022, @09:03PM
Exactly.
My point is that thanks to governments and media completely misusing the term "terrorist", it has lost all meaning beyond "people that did something violent that we don't like" - which is pretty much a superset of "soldier" as well.
And that Russia is neither alone in, nor the first to, abuse the word that way.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by isostatic on Monday October 10 2022, @02:14PM (9 children)
War never began as far as Russia was concerned, this was a "special military operation"
As far as Ukraine is concerned Russia invaded in 2014 and they won't stop until that's all undone (and I assume some talk about reparations)
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday October 10 2022, @02:45PM (8 children)
Yeah, it'll be interesting to see where this ends: at 'normal' Ukrainian border or do they go into Russia. I guess a lot depends on Putin and those around him...
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Monday October 10 2022, @08:04PM (3 children)
Assuming "Putin and those around him" don't make a stupid mistake to legitimately involve NATO before the Ukrainians reach the 'normal' border, they will stop there on the threat NATO will stop assisting them with weapons/ammunition/fuel/etc.
Once there, Ukraine will put up its request to get into NATO and my guess it will be approved sooner rather than later (the Turks can't raise objection due to PKK presence in Ukraine and they delivered drones that were used against Russia. Hungary seems to primarily follow Turkey lead [euronews.com] but still plays dirty tricks).
After Ukraine gets in NATO (or after Putin made the mistake to call NATO onto his head), my guess is as good as anyone's: from Putin suffering a sudden illness (communicated on media by a friendly FSB speaker) to WWIII with nukes flying. The range is quite large and possibly includes NATO attacking inside of Russian border, yet not that far - one hopes - to trigger Putin's nuclear doctrine [thebulletin.org] (if he still maintains it and didn't change his mind onto "If I'm going down, I'll take the entire world with me").
More clarification coming for the mouth of the (former president) current "Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev" (so take it for what you think it worth):
(this includes "don't even think to take down our satellites, it may just happen will see it as paralyzing our nuclear deterrent forces")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday October 11 2022, @12:16AM
I know, but i bet the U.S. is wishing they could help the Ukraine go all the way to Moscow and put in a 'democratic' government (whatever that means).
THAT would be interesting, but yeah; will never happen.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11 2022, @02:51AM (1 child)
Like, shelling a consulate of a NATO nation [www.bild.de], which potentially opens up an Article 5 causus belli? Depending on how strictly you read the Vienna Conventions (and, consulates and embassies are different).
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Friday October 14 2022, @08:05PM
Remember the time the US bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade?
(Score: 2) by legont on Monday October 10 2022, @11:29PM (3 children)
It will end without Ukraine on the map. South and East will go to Russia, West to mostly Poland and such.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by legont on Monday October 10 2022, @11:35PM (2 children)
Putin will not repeat Stalin's mistake of Winter War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War [wikipedia.org]
Back in 1939 a deal was made with Finland. The result was blockade of Leningrad by Finns and Germans and death of over a million Russian civilians mostly from hunger. Ukraine will go down or else.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday October 11 2022, @06:47PM (1 child)
"Else" is already here. As to the mistake, I find it remarkable how some people just don't get it. If Russia hadn't invaded Finland back then, there would have been no Finn support for the siege of Leningrad. Putin already made that mistake back when he encouraged Yanukovych to deep six Ukrainian associate status with the EU back in 2013. He's been doubling down ever since.
There's no Nazi Germany menace now. That's all imaginary. And sorry, I won't go out of my way to accommodate imaginary fears.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday October 11 2022, @11:14PM
(Score: 2) by quietus on Monday October 10 2022, @07:34PM (1 child)
Divers have checked the structural supports of the bridge. One pillar is reported to be severely damaged: there's an (under water) deformation seam.
Floating cranes are on the way, together with 3 additional ferries and a dredging ship. The dredging ship is necessary, as 2 of the ferries need a deeper harbour. By the end of the week, metal structures are expected from Tyumen, Korghan and Voronetz -- the first in a series.
The (political) head of Crimea expects the repair to be finished in 1 to 1.5 months.
In parallel, a new overland transport route of 359km is being developed. Commercial carriers are hesitant to use this route, though, as it passes through the "new territories".
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11 2022, @03:34AM
As a possible comparison, after the SF Bay Bridge collapsed in the 1989 earthquake, it took just one month to get it back into operation: https://www.deseret.com/1989/11/17/18832757/bay-bridge-ready-to-reopen-a-month-after-quake-damage [deseret.com]
Not exactly the same situation, but demonstrates that bridge repair can be fast if there is political will to fund it.
Personal note, I'd been commuting over that bridge a few weeks before the earthquake...
(Score: 3, Informative) by quietus on Tuesday October 11 2022, @05:07PM
It might not have been the Ukrainians who are behind the attack.
The exploded truck was carrying a load of cling film. Russia doesn't produce cling film itself: it was imported first into Georgia from Bulgaria, and then hauled all the way from Georgia: a drive of about 26 hours. The truck driver was Georgian, the 55 year old nephew of the 25 year old owner of the truck, who at the time was not in Russia. Given that age, the driver would have been 41 years old at the start of the Russo-Georgian War, and might have had family members killed in the ethnic cleansing that was part of that war. Note that Georgians are, or were, the most prominent contingent [eurasianet.org] of foreign fighters on the Ukrainian side.
The truck should have driven over the bridge by the 7th, but the driver decided to only make the crossing on the following day's night. The explanation is the driver wanted to rest a bit.
Now, to the security part. At least this part of the story shows that nobody ever wondered why a truck with a load of cling film was necessary for either the 'new territories', or Russian's Army there: perhaps to wrap their lunch in, in between shootings? You can extend that thought to the rest of the traffic crossing the bridge: as pro-Kremlin publication lenta.ru itself mentioned, the bridge is well-known for smuggling, and the checkpoints on the bridge are well-liked posts, as it is known (according to lenta.ru) that you can make up to a million rubles a week there.
Smuggling would explain the timing of the truck too. Most smugglers (according to lenta.ru) drive their business across during the night; it is assumed that that's the reason why the truck didn't go through the X-ray scanning apparatus either, as it should have been.
And finally: there were 3 different instances checking security for the bridge: Rosvgardia, for the underwater checks (one would expect the Navy) and two other military departments. Putin, ofcourse, did what you might expect him to do after such a security breach: he added in the FSB, as a fourth security instance.
So, that's for bridge security -- but there's a wider context. Above I've already suggested -- given truck, transport, and driver -- that Georgia (or a group of patriottic Georgians) might be behind this action (the Russo-Georgian War is still continuing btw, around the Abkhazia and South-Ossetia regions). But there are plenty of other parties who'd like to see Russia fail, and fail bigly, in its conflict with Ukraine.
January last year saw an uprising in Kazakhstan, if I remember correctly, nominally about high fuel prices but more likely about pervasive corruption under the current regime. The Russians (and, later, the Chinese) moved in as peace keepers, keeping the regime there in power. Somewhere in April this year it also started to rumble between Azerbaijan and Armenia, around the Nagorno-Karabach region: the Russians functioned there as peace keepers for many years.
And in recent days there has been a lot of hubbub in the Russian press about Kyrgyzstan suddenly canceling the CSTO joint training exercises, which were to be held on its territory at the end of this month. The reason for the cancellation was originally unknown: it took a couple of days before Kyrgyzstan came with the explanation that it though it inappropriate to hold the exercises, due to a border conflict between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. That might be so, but the Kyrgyzstan President was also notably absent on Putin's birthday party, noted Kommersant.
Enfin, the more Putin's Russia weakens, the more the whole map of the 'stans might be redrawn.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Tuesday October 11 2022, @06:49PM
He can't beat Ukraine's military so they fight the civilians.
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