Expert analysis claim US drone to trigger Crimea bridge explosion

A drone supplied to the Ukrainian military from the US could have been behind the October 8 explosion on the strategically vital Kerch Strait Bridge that connects Russia's mainland to the annexed Crimean peninsula, an expert analysis recently suggested.

A report published by independent military experts and researchers from Molfar, a global open-source intelligence community, refuted the Kremlin's narrative of the bridge blast and offered possible alternatives, writes Newseek.

Russian officials have said that the bridge explosion was caused by a truck bomb. The Kremlin's principal security agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB), claimed on October 12 morning that the explosion had been planned by Ukrainian military intelligence for months, and said five Russians and three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia had been detained.

The FSB claimed the explosive device used in the attack was hidden in rolls of construction-grade polyethylene plastic sheeting and was transported in a truck across the bridge.

Ukrainian authorities have not claimed responsibility for the incident.

Analysis by independent military experts note discrepancies in the Kremlin's version of events, including that there was no hole visible in the road surface where the truck exploded, that the truck should have been inspected before crossing the bridge and that videos of the explosion appear to show multiple explosions, including one that appears to be detonated from below the bridge.

"Theoretically, the bridge could be blown up from below," the Molfar report said. "After all, at the time of the detonation, there was a wave under the section that collapsed, while there was [none] under the others."