Was the Crimean attack planned for Putin’s birthday?

The Russian Crimean Bridge was set on fire on Saturday morning. It is still not officially clear who carried out the attack on the railway bridge between mainland Russia and the Russian-occupied Black Sea peninsula in Crimea.

With the smug comment “the bridge burns beautifully at sunrise”, the Ukrainian Internal Secret Service (SBU) hinted that it was not entirely innocent of the burning Crimean Bridge. Vladimir Putin (70) also accuses Ukraine and speaks of a “terrorist attack”. On Wednesday, the Russian domestic intelligence service FSB announced that eight people had been arrested. The mastermind behind the operation, according to the FSB, was the head of the Ukrainian secret service, Kirill Budanov.

There is speculation not only about who, but also how the attack was carried out. Russian intelligence maintains the theory that the explosion was caused by a bomb in a truck and released new details about the truck’s ride on Wednesday. According to the FSB, the bomb was wrapped in construction film and smuggled from Ukraine across four borders to Russia.

The truck could have been on the bridge for Putin’s birthday

The Russian media are now also reporting on the possible turn of events, while in fact they are sticking to the FSB theory. According to the Baza telegram, the Russian Machir J.* († 51) was driving the truck. He is said to have been ordered on Thursday, two days before the explosion, to transport spare parts from Armavir in southern Russia to Simferopol, the capital of Crimea. The Russian is said to have earned about 48,000 rubles (equivalent to 740 Swiss francs) from the mission.

As reported by various media, J. would have picked up the cargo on Friday morning and then brought it to the capital, about 660 kilometers away. The same day – just in time for Vladimir Putin’s (70) birthday – the truck driver could have been at the Crimean Bridge.

But instead of going straight to the destination, the Russian stopped a few kilometers from the bridge to sleep. As Baza reports, the driver called his family in the evening and said he was staying overnight. Then he turned off his phone. It wasn’t until the next morning, when J. drove away, that the huge explosion took place.

It is therefore suspected that the attack should have taken place on Friday, Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday.

These are the fatalities of the Crimean Bridge

In addition to Machir J., four other Russian citizens were killed on Saturday. According to Russian media, these are the drivers and passengers of a Cadillac and a Mitsubishi.

So far, however, only the bodies of a woman and two men have been found in the sea. Among them is a married couple from St. Petersburg, the news portal Fontanka writes. Eduard C.* (†53) and Soja S. (†33) were well-known tourist guides in the city. The history-interested bloggers also regularly posted accompanying videos on YouTube. According to the Russian agency Ria Novosti, the tour guides were on their way to Crimea to shoot a film about the Romanov family.

As Russian opposition politicians report on Twitter, the man is said to have represented extremely Kremlin-critical views. His social media profile suggested this. He followed all independent and opposition media there.

The owner of the Cadillac is said to be Sergei M.* († 42), a Moscow referee, reports journalist Xenia Sobchak (40).

According to her Telegram channel, the fifth victim to cause the attack is Gleb O.* († 26), a fitness trainer and massage therapist from Moscow. He would be on his way to his parents.

Huge traffic jams after the attack

Despite the massive damage, the Crimean administration has reportedly tried to quickly restore traffic on the bridge. As the Russian-backed regional head, Sergei Aksjonov, 49, announced on Telegram, train traffic would have resumed Saturday night.

Car traffic, on the other hand, had to be temporarily diverted to the undamaged part of the bridge, which led to a traffic jam.

On Sunday, cars were then able to cross the bridge again. Only trucks, buses and other heavy vehicles had to transfer to a free ferry. As the “Moscow Times” reported Monday, despite the bridge’s rapid reopening, massive traffic jams were on both sides. According to Russian media reports, the waiting time was sometimes up to 12 hours. Recordings of car avalanches before, after or on the Krimbrug also circulated on Twitter. Traffic is better now.

* Names known