Hey guys!
I have now finally returned! I’m going to do my best to keep with my every-other-day schedule, but I can’t make any promises.
Now, I’ve got some big news to share with everyone, but first, a little backstory.
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I’m sure you readers have heard at least a little about the Russian annexation of Crimea. In 2014, the pro-Russian groups in the Crimean Peninsula of southern Ukraine, held a “vote” on whether or not the region wanted to secede and join Russia. Aaaaand you can probably guess what happened. The Crimeans (who were majority Russians) apparently voted in favor of joining Russia - by a 97-percent margin, not suspicious at all - and Russia, which already had a considerable military force around Crimea, invaded and annexed the peninsula. The move was condemned all around the West, but it failed to drum up the kind of support the Ukraine War has garnered. Russia went ahead with its plans, and has had control of the region since the invasion, though it’s not recognized as a legitimate claim. It’s being used as a base for Russian incursions into Ukraine.
But that vice grip on Crimea was weakened today, as the only bridge connecting Russia to the peninsula was consumed in a fiery explosion.
Mere hours ago, the 12-mile long Kerch Bridge lost two of its sections to the sea in a mighty fireball. The Kremlin reports that three people were killed, and cite a Ukrainian truck bomb as the cause for the blast. This is confirmed by an anonymous Ukrainian official who said that intelligence services had indeed orchestrated the attack. A Ukraine applauded the damage, but did not acknowledge its role in the bombing. This is yet another embarrassment for Russia, yet another thing to add to an already very long list of mistakes and mishaps. Putin actually opened the bridge himself, making it all the more humiliating for something so important and personal to be destroyed. The damage is not yet fully clear, but BBC reports that the bridge has at least partially reopened, with a Russian government twitter account (how do they have an active twitter account?) releasing video of traffic on the bridge.
I guess it’s like the saying goes…
They’re burning bridges all the way.