As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate, Crimea Bridge has become the focus of a new round of confrontation between the two sides.
According to relevant news reports, at 6:07 am on October 8, the Crimea Bridge suddenly burst into flames. It turned out that it was a truck from Russia. When he drove to the bus pass of the bridge, an explosion occurred for some reason.
The truck that exploded immediately caused a train carrying oil tanks to the Crimea region to catch fire, and soon some bridges on the Crimea Bridge collapsed.
Russia quickly launched an investigation into this, and the investigation results were soon released. Ukraine was the planner and factor of the incident. Putin said that this is a "terrorist attack on key civil infrastructure."
At the same time, Podolak, the consultant of the Ukrainian office, publicly stated on social networks that the incident (referring to the bombing of the Crimean Bridge) is just the beginning and all illegal things will be destroyed.
Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian War on February 24, it has been more than half a year since then. Many people have gone from being shocked at the beginning to being used to it, but the news that the Crimea Bridge was bombed by the Ukrainian side has undoubtedly stirred people's nerves again, which can be said to have a stone to stir up a thousand waves!
The Crimea Bridge is 19 kilometers long and 7.5 kilometers across the sea. It is a dual-purpose road and railway bridge connecting Crimea and Russia.
For Russia, the Crimea Bridge is of great significance. This is not only because after the completion of the Crimea Bridge, Russia has the only land route to Crimea, but also because this bridge is a symbol of Russia's revocation of Crimea.
Russia has always wanted Crimea. After all, getting Crimea means getting it, the rare unfreezing port Sevastopol . In this way, Russia's Black Sea Fleet can enter Mediterranean through this unfreezing port and then sail into the Atlantic Ocean to deter NATO member states of southeastern Europe .
And to the east of Crimea is Caucasus , which is rich in oil and gas resources. In addition, Crimea is also close to Ural Industrial Zone , which is one of the important industrial producing areas in Russia.
It can be said that with Crimea, Russia not only has a port that is not frozen, but also uses it to alleviate the pressure brought by NATO, but also can use it as a natural portal to protect Russia's industry, and even use it as a springboard to interfere in the affairs of Middle East . Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that Crimea is Russia's core interest.
In 2014, Crimea held a referendum to join Russia, which was a great victory for the Russian side. To this day, Putin has regarded this matter as his most important political achievement.
Since the Crimea Bridge is separated by a " Kerch Strait " between Russia, after Crimea joined the Russian Federation, Putin announced the construction of the Crimea Bridge.
But maybe using the word "reconstruction" will be more accurate. Because in fact, the Crimea Bridge has been built in history, but it has not been built yet and has been destroyed. The bridge construction plan was first proposed by Nazi Germany in 1943, with the purpose of allowing the German army to attack the Soviet Union.
However, before the bridge was completed, Crimean Peninsula was liberated by the Soviet Red Army. In 1944, the Soviet Union began to build a bridge, but because the bridge piers lacked the protection of breakwater and , it was damaged one after another by floating ice, and the construction of this bridge was eventually cancelled.
It was not until 2016 that the Crimea Bridge began construction and was completed in 2018, with a total cost of US$3.7 billion, and it was called the "Century Project" by Russian media. On the day was opened, Putin personally drove a truck and drove across the bridge to Kerch to express his joy.
With the opening of the Crimea Bridge, the phase of Crimea's official integration into the Russian Federation began.It should be said that with the Crimea Bridge, Russia was able to better control Crimea.
And for the above reasons, the Crimea Bridge can be regarded as Russia's red line in some ways. Now, Ukraine has stomped on the "red line" hard, and it is difficult to tell whether Russia has lost more face or the loss of real money and silver is greater.
However, face is still relatively weak. I think I have not lost face. No matter what others say, I can say I have not lost face. But real money can be seen. It is no exaggeration to say that Russia has suffered a considerable loss when the Crimea Bridge was bombed.
First of all, from the economic perspective, : After Crimea was incorporated into Russia, it guaranteed the initiative in Russia's foreign trade route, which guaranteed Russia's foreign trade development and increased Russia's economy. In addition, after Crimea was incorporated into Russia, it also increased the development direction of the country's economy.
Crimea is located in the center of Black Sea . It has a rich historical and cultural heritage, a livable environment, rich water resources and forest resources. With the support of Russia, Crimea's tourism industry has developed rapidly. In contrast, Crimea's tourism industry has contributed to Russia's revenue share of 's tertiary industry , feeding back to Russia's economy.
As mentioned earlier, the Crimea Bridge is the only land channel between Russia and Crimea. With the Crimea Bridge, the economic connection between Crimea and Russia is facilitated. It can be said that whether it is the feeding back the tourism industry or the development of Russia's foreign trade economy, it is inseparable from the Crimea Bridge.
Now, the Crimea Bridge was bombed, saying it has no impact on the Russian economy is fake. In addition, after the establishment of this bridge, Russia also "grasp" the ports along the Azov Sea of Ukraine, which poses a restriction on external ships entering Azov Sea of through Crimea.
You should know that almost more than 80% of Ukraine's trade goods pass through the Kerch Strait. Now the strait is under the control of Russia, which is simply fatal to Ukraine's economy.
However, it is beneficial to Russia. Once the bridge is bombed, Russia's grasp of the Sea of Azov will naturally become weak, which will make the previous benefits disappear.
In addition, even if we don’t talk about the economic impact on Russia after the bridge is bombed, economic losses have been caused from the moment the bridge is bombed. According to the All-Russian Insurance Company Alliance, the roadbed collapse after the explosion of the Crimea Bridge has estimated that it has caused losses of 500 million rubles (more than 8 million US dollars).
Secondly, from a military perspective, :
Since the Crimea Bridge is the only land transportation channel for Crimea and Russia, it is also the only land transportation channel for Russia to control Crimea and the southern Ukraine region and provide logistical supplies.
This reduces Russia as much as possible. The risks posed by the NATO Navy to Russia in the direction of the Black Sea. It can be said that can play an important role during the war.
Russian media "Russia Today" once reported that after the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Russian army has always used the Crimean Bridge when transporting armored vehicles and other military equipment and supplies.
The Crimea Bridge was blown up
. When the Cromea Bridge was blown up, the Russian army lacked an important transportation route for transporting materials. It may not have that impact in normal times. can be in a wartime state and cannot be guaranteed, which is not a joke.
In addition, in terms of the importance of the Crimean Bridge, being bombed will inevitably affect morale. This is really not good for an army.
So, when the Crimea Bridge was bombed, except for the parties involved, many people had a melon-eating mentality, discussing how much losses Russia will suffer, and seeing what Russia will react next.
However, the Crimea Bridge was destroyed, and in fact, it is not enough for Russia to suffer losses. Many companies in other countries that have invested in Crimea cannot avoid losses.
For example, in Japan, Japanese companies are investing in super-large tourism complexes in the suburbs of Yalta, Crimea. This large tourism complex will inevitably be affected.
In addition, China has also made great investments in Crimea, and has been involved in infrastructure construction, housing construction, etc.
China finalized the project of building a deep-water port in Crimea with Ukraine in 2013. my country is preparing to invest US$10 billion in USD. This project was not cancelled after the Crimea referendum was incorporated into Russia in 2014. After the completion of this deep-water port, trade and transportation between China and Europe will be greatly shortened.
Deepwater Port
Since then, China has frequently invested in Crimea, and has everything to eat, drink and play. In 2016, a delegation of Chinese entrepreneurs reached a cooperation agreement with wine manufacturers in Crimea.
Although it may be that before the Crimea Bridge was bombed, many foreign-invested enterprises were affected by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the bombing of the Crimea Bridge undoubtedly added fuel to the fire, causing foreign-invested enterprises to lose more and more.
In this era of in-depth exchanges around the world, there is no doubt that no one can survive alone. is like European countries clamoring to punish Russia, but after sanctions, they find out that they are the ones who were sanctioned.
Russia has stopped transporting oil, natural gas, and other resources, and European countries themselves can't stand it. The high electricity bills and soaring prices have caused some European countries - Germany and France to protest strikes and marches.
Therefore, the Crimea Bridge was bombed and the damage was not only the parties involved, but only the losses of other countries that had exchanges with the parties involved.
Now Russia is also urgently repairing the damaged bridge body. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Husnulin, the damaged piers of the Crimea Bridge are expected to be repaired within this week. But it will take a month and a half to completely repair the bridge.
In one and a half months of the bridge being completely repaired, something even worse may happen. After all, Ukrainian has stated that the Crimea Bridge is just the beginning.
And this also reminds me that if the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to deteriorate, it may involve more countries and then evolve into three battles.
However, although the current world is turbulent, there are opportunities in crisis. The ancestors said, "Good is hidden by misfortune, and misfortune is relying on good fortune." A new order may have been born quietly, and all we need to do is to seize the opportunity.
