Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Crimean bridge and made inspections. According to TASS, the head of state, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, drove across the bridge in a German Mercedes car.
The official told the president that four spans of the bridge were restored after the explosion. Putin was on his way from Taman to Crimea. “In front of your back. This side [тут] everything is going well. We changed four openings there,” said Khusnullin.
He added that the metal structures were assembled at the construction site. Metal was brought from Tyumen, Kurgan and Voronezh.
“In two weeks, they collected 1,214 tons and brought them here,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
500 people, 3 floating cranes, 4 barges and more than 30 construction equipment worked day and night to restore the bridge. Khusnullin also told Putin that it took 55 days to restore the bridge, of which 22 days “a storm broke out, we had to use unique technologies.”
Putin was driving on the right side of the bridge and instructed Khusnullin to “raise” the left side to “perfect condition”.
“I understand that the left one is operational, but it still suffered a bit,” the chairman said.
Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov, said that Putin drove across the Crimean bridge in a German Mercedes, because this car was nearby.
“There was just such a car there. I went over it, so as not to overdo it, ”said the Kremlin representative. According to TASS’s report, Peskov was asked why the president didn’t drive in a domestic car.
In addition, the spokesperson said that Putin met with the builders during the inspection of the Crimean bridge.
Putin also had a short meeting with the workers working on the bridge. Against the background of the ongoing threats officially voiced from Kiev about possible new attacks on the Crimean bridge and related infrastructure, Peskov stressed the importance of the land route connecting Crimea with the rest of Russia, ”Peskov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Marat Khusnullin on the bridge of Crimea, 5 December 2022
Mikhail Metzel/POOL/TASS
Terrorist attack on the bridge
On the night of 8 October, a truck explosion on the bridge collapsed the bridge’s two carriageway openings, and seven fuel tanks of a passing train caught fire. Four people died.
In early August 2022, explosives were sent from Odessa to the Bulgarian city of Ruse, and then via Georgia to the Russian Armavir, after which the bridge was blown up, the FSB reported. Thus, the explosives were removed from Ukraine after the signing of the food agreement on July 22.
After a while after the explosion, the traffic in the car section resumed in reverse gear. In the evening of the same day, traffic was opened on the railway bridge. A ferry was launched from the Kerch Strait to drain the traffic flow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incident as a terrorist attack. The FSB of the Russian Federation said that the perpetrator of the attack was the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kirill Budanov. 12 people prepared the attack, eight of whom were detained.
Putin has already crossed the bridge
On May 15, 2018, during the grand opening of the Crimean bridge, the President of the Russian Federation got behind the wheel of an orange dump truck and drove to the Crimea. The journey took 16 minutes and 45 seconds. Neither the driver nor the passenger were wearing seat belts. At the same time, a belt could be seen hanging on the left shoulder of the president of the country.
In response to a request from Gazeta.ru about why Putin was not wearing his seat belt, the FSO announced at the time of the opening ceremony that the bridge had not yet received public road status. “Officially, traffic on the Crimean bridge opened at 5.30 am on May 16,” Denis Simonov, deputy head of the press and public relations center, told socialbites.ca.
— President Vladimir Putin attended a cultural event, the grand opening of the Crimean Bridge, on May 15.
At that time, the Crimean bridge was not a public road, in fact, it had the status of a construction site. Movement not regulated by traffic rules. Failure to use the seat belt did not pose a threat to the safety of the Russian President.”
Source: Gazeta
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.