“Looking at the photos showing this destruction, there are no elements to indicate that it was indeed a Neptune missile or aviation that bombed this bridge. Rather, it looks like a well-thought-out special forces operation and it certainly wasn’t an explosion of any kind, because it’s not like a truck explodes and a tanker explodes from the train somewhere “- says General Roman Polko in an interview with the portal wPolityce.pl , former commander of GROM, referring to the case of damage to the Crimean Bridge.
It’s such an incident, the tank just caught fire, how is it presented by the Russians?
Gene. Roman Polko: The Kremlin’s propaganda on this matter is very contradictory, because some of its representatives say it was done by the Ukrainians, and others that it was just a tanker that caught fire. In my opinion we can only speculate now, we don’t know how it came about. The Ukrainian side rightly does not boast of it, as it is simply consistently carrying out the operation to expel the Russians from the occupied territories. The Kerch Bridge was referred to by many as the object to be destroyed because Russian supplies to Crimea passed through it. This is the main nerve driving the occupying forces who led the offensive from Crimea. Looking at the photos showing this destruction, there are no elements to indicate that it was indeed a Neptune missile or aviation that bombed this bridge. It’s more like a deliberate special forces operation and it certainly wasn’t an explosion of any kind, because it’s not like a truck explodes and a tanker from the train explodes somewhere. It seems to be something much more thoughtful, I have a few concepts in my head, but I don’t really want to share my experiences from the early years of service when these kinds of subversive operations were, if not planned, at least analyzed how they could be. are carried out.
So it was probably a Ukrainian sabotage group that placed the explosives on the Crimean Bridge?
I came across such analyzes that they were certainly not specialists, because such a diversion group would not have transported such a heavy explosive there. But why walk with the water to the sea or the forest to the forest? Well, if this bridge crosses a number of transports with hazardous materials, fuel and ammunition every day, the loads are already in place. There are many concepts, how to make an explosion in this situation, you can install a little earlier and explode these charges by radio. However, I do not wish to present any specialized analysis on this subject.
The Russians will probably try to rebuild this bridge as soon as possible. Do you see a chance that it could be damaged again, or will the Russians now implement such advanced security procedures that there is no chance?
They have already implemented high-quality security procedures. They installed anti-missile and anti-aircraft systems and probably came from a completely different direction. However, it should be noted that this is mainly related to the developing Ukrainian counter-offensive. Not only do they want to conquer Kherson, but they really want to close the Crimea, isolate the supplies to Crimea, not only through the Kerch Bridge, but also by land, to get back not only Kherson, but also Melitopol, what a key is communication node. Even this wire of the Crimean Bridge, which is said to be unobstructed, no one really knows now if it is, because after such an explosion, expert opinions will probably have to be made on this matter, or it will collapse. Yet this explosion has given the Ukrainians time. This situation will undoubtedly hit the morale of the Russian soldiers hard and will allow the Ukrainians to spread their wings even more. The Crimean Bridge crash happened at the right time for Putin to give a birthday present, and I wish him more such disasters.
As far as military targets are concerned, the path for the supply of Russian equipment and logistics facilities to the land front via Crimea has been temporarily blocked. What could this mean for the course of military operations, how much more difficult for the Russians?
It will certainly be difficult. This is the main power line of Russian troops. By sea or by land through the Donbass, it’s hard to imagine what went through the Crimean Bridge. The Russian army has two Achilles heels from the beginning – the first is the command and communication system, and the second is logistics, which is not able to supply enough soldiers, which is why they look like they are. The next task for the Ukrainian group in the south is to take control of Melitopol as a major communications hub. Then Crimea would be blocked.
Judging by the photos you saw, how do you estimate how much time it will take the Russians to repair the Crimean Bridge?
It will certainly take at least a month. I would like to send them road builders from my area, they would do it for about two years (laughs).
Is it possible for the Ukrainians to conquer Melitopol in the aforementioned month?
This is a crucial time for the winter, when the action on the front lines can at the very least be slowed down. Ukrainians have taken the initiative and are developing their activities. I hope that the West will continue to provide sufficient support to Ukraine in the areas of logistics, ammunition and weapons. The panic and fear that have crept into the ranks of the Russian military are likely to do their job too, for none of them want to perish in this senseless war.
Interviewed by Adam Stankiewicz
Source: wPolityce