Satellite images recorded over the last week show the dimension of the new chapter of the Ukrainian War, which began with the explosion of the bridge connecting Russia to Crimea on Saturday (8). The records are from Maxar, an American aerospace technology company.
Russian officials say a truck bomb exploded in the structure built over the Kerch Strait – a crucial supply route for Vladimir Putin’s troops in the invaded country – and subsequently set fire to seven tanks on a train carrying fuel.
The bridge had been opened in 2018, four years after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and represented a symbol of the union between the two territories. Putin attended the pompous inauguration and called the connection over the strip of water, which separates the Black and Azov seas, a miracle.
In the first images, captured moments after the explosion, flames and smoke can be seen rising from the train. In the following days, the satellite photographed freighters and other vessels moored around the perimeter of the incident site to begin repairs to the structure — a stretch of road strip was completely submerged in the ocean.
Maxar’s lenses show that, at least until Wednesday (12), an extensive queue of trucks and vehicles was still waiting on the mainland for the return of traffic on the bridge. A ferry service was activated to remove the traffic caused by the interruption in the traffic on the bridge.
Kiev did not claim responsibility for the action, but several officials paraded their satisfaction by posting the image of the burning bridge on social media. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the main heir to the Soviet KGB, said it had detained five Russian and three Ukrainian and Armenian nationals for the crime.
The bridge explosion prompted a massive Russian counterattack. On Monday (10), at least 84 missiles hit targets in 11 of the country’s main urban centers, such as Kiev, Kharkiv and Lviv, according to the Ukrainian army – it was the most extensive bombing of cities in the invaded country since the beginning of the war. . The capital recorded at least four explosions, and 19 people died.
Moscow claimed responsibility for the shots, but denies targeting civilian structures and claims it hit only strategic targets.
One of these Russian attacks was caught by Maxar’s lens. In the images, it is possible to see smoke rising from the structure of the Tets-5 thermoelectric station, on the banks of the Dnipro River, which cuts through Kiev. A Samsung company headquarters located next to the power generator was also damaged.
The aerospace company had last month recorded the exodus of thousands of Russians after the announcement of a partial mobilization for the war. Then satellite images showed long lines of cars at Russian border crossings with Georgia and Mongolia.
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