You are here: HomeAfricaBBC2022 10 10Article 1639304

BBC Pidgin of Monday, 10 October 2022

Source: BBC

Russia increase security afta Crimea bridge blast

New satellite images wey Maxar Technologies snap show smoke and fire dey come out afta di explosion New satellite images wey Maxar Technologies snap show smoke and fire dey come out afta di explosion

Russia don increase security for dia only bridge to Crimea afta one huge blast destroy sections of am on Saturday. Now, President Vladimir Putin don order di kontri Federal Security Service (FSB) to oversee di key connector to di occupied peninsula. Di bridge na also na key symbol of Russia annexation of Crimea from Ukraine for 2014. Di blast kill three pipo, Russian investigators tok. Officials say work to fix di damaged sections go begin immediately. Russia deputy prime minister order make dem take down immediately di destroyed parts of di bridge. E say divers go begin investigating damage below di waterline on Sunday morning, Russian news agencies report. Di bridge wey Russian media dey hail as as "the construction of the century", dey crucial to Russia for di movement of military equipment, ammunition and troops into southern Ukraine. But new satellite images wey dem release on Saturday show smoke and fire near di collapsed areas of di 19km (12-mile) bridge, wey dem open with much fanfare four years afta Moscow annexed Crimea. Since e play strategic role for di war, Ukrainian authorities don tok say na legitimate target, as dem promise to retake di peninsula. Ukrainian officials respond with thinly-veiled approval to di explosion - but never show if dia forces dey behind di attack. President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledge di incident for im nightly address on Saturday, wey e say: "Today no be bad day and mostly sunny on our state's territory." "Unfortunately, ie dey cloudy for Crimea. Although e also dey warm," e add. Russian authorities move swiftly to reopen those parts of di key connector wey still intact, and tok late on Saturday say dem don partially reopen di bridge has to road and rail traffic. Na very important part for Moscow supply chain to di battlefront for dia invasion of Ukraine - and to di annexed Crimean territory itsef. Di Moscow-appointed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, tok say desire dey for revenge, but make reassurances say di peninsula still get one month worth of fuel and more than two month worth of food. "Di situation dey manageable - e dey unpleasant, but not deadly," e tok. Ukrainian official David Arakhamia, parliamentary head of Mr Zelensky party, tok say "Russian illegal construction don start to dey fall apart and catch fire. "Di reason dey simple: If you build something explosive, then sooner or later e go explode." And one Ukrainian MP tell di BBC say regardless of who dey responsible for di attack, dis na "big Ukrainian victory and very serious and hard loss for Russia". "Di bridge no destroy but damaged, but di image of Putin na destroyed, dat na di most important thing," Oleksiy Goncharenko tok. E dey hard to overstate di political, symbolic and strategic significance of di Crimean bridge. Russian officials don bin first claim say di place dey well protected from threats from air, land or water - particularly since e dey more than 100 miles from Ukrainian-held territory. One Russian national anti-terrorism committee tok say di damage dey caused by one truck bomb wey blow up, and wey cause seven railway carriages to catch fire. Dem dey investigate di home of one man from di Krasnodar region of southern Russia, e add. While Ukraine never link dia armed forces to di explosion, dem don bin target Crimea in die past. Last month, Ukraine claim responsibility for series of air strikes on Crimea - including one attack on Russia Saky military base. Since di bridge attack on Saturday, Ukraine social media don dey for celebration. Dia second-largest bank say dem don already issue one new debit card design featuring di collapsed bridge. For recent weeks, Kyiv forces don take back significant amounts of territory wey Russia bin seize earlier for di war. Hours afta di bridge explosion, Russia appoint one new commander to lead dia troops for Ukraine. Sergei Surovikin na veteran commander known for leading Russian forces for Syria and dem accuse am of overseeing di destruction of di city of Aleppo. But Russia still control fast area of Ukraine, including di Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant - di biggest for Europe - wey don lost all external power and dey rely on emergency diesel generators for di energy wey e need for reactor cooling, according to di UN nuclear watchdog. And di nearby city of Zaporizhzhia, for Ukraine south-east, witness overnight shelling wey kill at least 12 pipo, according to regional governor Oleksandr Starukh. One dozen Russian air strikes hit several residential buildings, destroying some and damaging many more, e tok. "There fit be more pipo under di rubble. One rescue operation dey go on for di scene. Eight pipo na im dem don rescue already," e tok for Telegram. Earlier, officials tok say 17 pipo dia for di shelling.