Katerina Chernovol18:34, 03/26/24
The Russians are already building another railway that runs through the occupied Donbass, the general emphasized.
The destruction of the illegally built Crimean Bridge would be a humiliation for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and cause serious problems for the occupiers. This was stated by the former commander in chief of the US armed forces in Europe, retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges.
“Of course, the destruction of the Kerch Bridge – this would have to happen this year one way or another. I am sure that the Ukrainians will choose the right time and conditions. This is a huge bridge, it will be very difficult to destroy it. The Ukrainian special services will have a good plan on how to do this , and this will be something that will amaze us all. It will be done so cleverly that no one, including the Russians, will wait. When to do this, of course, is up to them,” he emphasized in an interview with BBC Ukraine.
According to him, the key reason that the German chancellor is delaying the transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine is his fear that Kyiv will use them to destroy the bridge across the Kerch Strait, for which Russia will take revenge on Germany with nuclear weapons. Hodges noted that “this is strange logic.”
“Yes, of course, this will be a humiliation for Putin. Yes, this will cause serious logistical problems for Russia when this illegal bridge, which illegally connects Russia with the mainland, is destroyed. But the Russians are already building another railway, also illegal, which passes through occupied Donbass,” the general said.
At the same time, he noted that if Ukraine blows up the bridge, but not with Taurus missiles, there will be “more strikes” from the Russian Federation, but, in his opinion, Moscow will not use nuclear weapons against our country. In this regard, he emphasized that German logic on the issue of transferring Taurus missiles to Ukraine “does not make sense.”
“The Russians see that we continue to restrain ourselves. The failure of the United States to deliver ATACMS with a 300-km range… We have not been able to clearly define the strategic goal – we want Ukraine to win. We have no goal. This is the same problem that we had us in Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea. We continue to fail because we cannot clearly define a strategic goal. And if you don’t have a clear goal, then you always lose,” he stated.
(C)UNIAN 2024
I would say destroy it asap according plan, then Scholtz has no reasons anymore not to deliver the Taurus missiles. Win-win situation.
Can’t the Storm Shadows break the bridge?
No, Mike, they don’t have the right warheads to destroy this type of target.
Maybe the Ukrainians could at least get some warheads, and put them in Storm Shadows? Or, develop their own, for the Neptunes?
Some time ago i asked you about the Taurus and you said they are almost identical. Obviously not, Frank. Now i understand the entire Taurus drama.
I explained to you once that their warheads are the major differences. Some think it’s their ranges, but they are nearly identical, according to Wiki.
Again, the Taurus warhead is much better suited to destroy a concrete structure, like a large bridge has.
I agree with Hodges, as usual. I’m sure that the Ukrainians are working on the problem, or they solved it and must wait for the right time. They’ll surprise everyone when it happens, that’s certain.
If we refer to the latest leak from the German army discussing the Taurus, 10 to 20 missiles would be necessary to effectively hit the bridge. That’s a lot, not counting the number of missiles intercepted during the operation.
I doubt Ukraine would just attack with Taurus. They will have decoys and drones mixed in with the Taurus.