James Glanz and Marco Hernandez
The attack severed a crucial Russian supply line and triggered a month of Russian airstrikes. Experts reconstructed how Ukraine pulled it off.
The attack, which killed four people, was a critical moment in the war. It dealt an embarrassing blow to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who presided over the bridge’s opening in 2018, and it underscored Russia’s inability to protect a critical strategic asset and a potent symbol as its only connection to Crimea.
Structural and explosive experts who reviewed the bridge’s design and imagery of the blast offered new details on how the bridge was damaged. The operation’s success shows sophisticated planning, they said — or luck.
There are few direct parallels to such a spectacular act of sabotage on a bridge behind enemy lines in wartime.
“Knocking down bridges was very difficult before the advent of precision-guided weapons, and even so, it is no easy feat,” said retired Rear Adm. Samuel J. Cox, the director of the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington. “Given the historic difficulty, the damage to the Kerch bridge is quite impressive.”
Bridges are designed with more strength than they typically need so that they can withstand unexpected stresses, such as a weather event. Even a powerful blast may do minimal damage if it strikes in the wrong place.
The Kerch Strait Bridge is no exception, and there is nothing unusual about its design: about 11 miles long, the roadway is held up by long steel girders resting on reinforced concrete piers, sunk into the sea floor. A raised portion, known as a tied-arch bridge, allows shipping traffic to pass underneath.
Despised by Ukrainians, the bridge opened in 2018 as a symbolic link to Russia after its occupation of Crimea. More recently, it has served as a crucial supply line for the Russian war effort.
No comments:
Post a Comment