“No longer shocked”: Putin told reactions to a new strike on the Crimean bridge, – media

The Russian elite – the authorities and the largest oligarchs – quite calmly greeted the second attack on the Crimean Bridge and, as they suspected, was carried out by drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, there are other events that they will not routinely respond to. This is stated in the material of The Moscow Times.

The publication spoke to anonymous representatives of the Russian elite – top officials and influential oligarchs. It seems that they are not so worried about the Crimean bridge: “No more shocks,” they say.

However, the interlocutors of the journalists agreed that the attack on the Crimean bridge caused some logistical problems. In particular, the supply of the Russian army has become more difficult, it is not clear what to do with the ten thousand tourists stranded on the peninsula. Events show that Putin has weakened – he has not fulfilled the promises he made after annexation, which he guaranteed 100 percent security.

However, representatives of the Russian elite say that there is no specific information hype. They do not worry, they perceive events – the spring wars, the rebellion of Yevgeny Prigozhin – as a routine. And the newspaper “set to work”, quoting the words of the interlocutors.

But there is an event that will cause much more alarm than the damage to the 600-ton span of the Crimean bridge. And this event is a withdrawal from Bakhmut. The withdrawal, as evidence of a successful counterattack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, is considered by the Russians something “far worse” than all previous “troubles”.

Media interlocutors also speculated about Putin’s reaction to the explosions on the Crimean bridge. First of all, they noted that just like after the attack on October 8, 2022, the Kremlin head did not address the nation. But he gathered the security forces and the army and began planning a “reprisal attack”. “Revenge”, according to the forecast of top Russians, massive missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Meanwhile, residents of occupied Crimea may not yet expect any word from the center, Moscow representatives are sure. Yes, these people have lost income from tourism, yes, they are almost stuck in the peninsula. Yes, and they’re not expecting any help, Princeton University researcher Yevgeny Roshchin is assured: “Given the previous bridge explosions and regular drone arrivals, I doubt people out there are seriously counting on that. For humans, this is the new normal.”

We remind you that as a result of the attack on the Crimean bridge, the occupation authorities offered the Russians to pass from the occupied regions of Donetsk and Kherson regions to the Russian Federation. To do this, he suggested using a special instruction, in which they taught how to safely pass through places of war.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the occupying power, Saldo and Pushilin, decided to facilitate the movement of transport from the Crimea in the direction of Melitopol, and then – passing Berdyansk and Mariupol – to the Rostov region of the Russian Federation. Their solution is to cancel checks at checkpoints and curfews.

The Crimean bridge exploded on the morning of May 17 – it is believed that drones or rockets of unknown origin or converted ATVs hit it.

As a result of the explosion, the opening of the automobile part of the structure was damaged, so trucks and cars were sent down the winding road and had to queue for kilometers at the exit of the Crimea.