Named the main victims of the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge: the situation on the peninsula

In the morning, the Crimean peninsula was shocked by an emergency – a truck exploded on the Crimean bridge, which caused the fire of railway tanks with fuel. Now traffic on the bridge has been stopped, rescuers and investigators are working. The timing of the restoration of the highway will be announced later. Ukraine has already claimed responsibility for the attack. The consequences of the explosion are felt on the peninsula itself – for example, impressive queues for gasoline formed at gas stations, although the fuel reserves on the peninsula are still very large. “MK” talked with the Crimeans, as well as with people whose work is tied to the peninsula, in order to understand – what should they do next?

In Crimea, rail and road traffic across the bridge has been stopped, but the authorities of the peninsula have already proposed an alternative type of traffic – from today, a ferry starts operating between the mainland and Crimea. Schedule will be posted later. According to the head of the peninsula, Sergei Aksyonov, people standing at the entrance to the bridge will not be left in trouble – there will be food and heating points for drivers.

Aksyonov also turned to the leaders of the hotel business with a request to extend the accommodation of guests whose terms of stay have ended during the day. The peninsula is ready to take on all costs. They also promise that there will be no problems with fuel: in Sevastopol, for example, there are gasoline reserves for 40 days. However, the excitement could not be avoided – people expect that there will be problems, massively buying up gasoline and essential products, which led to queues on the roads, in shops and pharmacies.

The authorities are taking steps to prevent panic. So, for the duration of the state of emergency in stores, they will limit the sale of groceries – in one hand up to 3 kilograms “in order to avoid artificial hype.” Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the peninsula are recovering from what happened. Although people are shocked by what happened, they are holding on with dignity. And they only experience even more negative emotions towards Ukraine.

“We live very well in Russia,” shared an age-old Crimean woman who has lived in Crimea since birth and has something to compare with, “we have already made money “under Ukraine.” When there was no hot water, when the electricity was constantly cut off, when we did not know what sustainable Internet was. Ukraine ruined everything here! Roads, sanatoriums – but there was a whole industry left to us since the days of the USSR. They ruined everything! Everything was illegally privatized! And now, when we have finally begun to live like civilized people – when there are roads, electricity, when they are already laying gas to private households – they want to ruin everything for us. Of course, the Crimean bridge is a guest in their throat! But they will choke on her!

We interviewed many people in different cities about their desire to immediately leave for the mainland.

“We are in shock,” people admitted, “the mood, of course, is somewhat depressed today. We all sit at the TV and call each other. But we will not leave, and not because there is nowhere – there is where – but we will not: here is our homeland. The connection is still good, the Internet is there, all social networks are working, we are constantly in contact with the mainland. We will survive, although it is morally very difficult. But we will endure. We are Russia! – such a general opinion can characterize the mood of people.

Not the happiest days are now for those who work in the tourism sector: “In addition to hoteliers in Crimea, there are also people who are employed year-round in the tourism sector, who are currently completely confused, as they may lose their jobs in the coming days. Is there anything we can do to help? – asks a rhetorical question Oleg – one of the guides working with tourists in the Crimea.

What is the current situation in your area?

– At this particular moment, on Saturday morning, the state of many Crimeans can be described as “very nervous.” Someone is more calm, someone decided to leave: long queues at gas stations are evidence of this. In such a state of people, it is impossible to make any adequate forecasts for the work of the industry. It should take a couple of days. People also work in leadership positions in the Republic of Crimea, not robots. They need to understand the situation. During the “coronavirus” period, when there were restrictions on the movement of people, the state provided assistance. I would like to hope that in the current situation they will not forget about the “little” person.

Problems arose not only among the inhabitants of the peninsula and tourists, but also those who were going to come there for work or business. So, for example, the trucker community is forced to think about how to deliver goods to the peninsula. Many of them were on their way to the peninsula when the incident happened. Now they are forced to look for other routes.

“I went there yesterday from Ufa,” the driver of the heavy truck Alexey told MK, “in the morning my wife “delighted”, now I’m thinking how to go and how to proceed.

— What ideas do you have?

– The authorities of the Crimea said that they were preparing the ferry. One ferry has already moved into place, and three more are on the way. But this option has disadvantages – firstly, the queue for it will be for a week, as before the construction of the bridge. Secondly, it can hit the pocket.

— Are there any alternatives to the ferry crossing?

— My colleague’s leadership decided to go through Mariupol to the Crimea. They just say that things are not going well with gas stations in Mariupol.