Is Putin’s war in Ukraine at a turning point?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 13 October 2022
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Kerch bridge, a vital supply route for Russian forces in Crimea, has been partially destroyed in a huge blast. It was a symbol of Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and the explosion was equally symbolic, coming just one day after President Putin’s 70th birthday. The Russian president described it as “an act of terrorism”, and he punished Ukraine’s cities with a day of missile strikes, targeting civilian areas. All this comes as Putin’s Special Military Operation is struggling. Ukraine has now seized back more territory than Russia took in the early stages of the war. Hundreds of thousands of Russian army reservists have fled rather than being sent to the front, war deaths and the financial costs of the war are mounting, and winter is approaching. But for President Putin, there is no easy exit from Ukraine. He may have no political choice but to double down, and has even dropped dark hints about using nuclear weapons. So this week on the Inquiry we ask: Is Putin’s war in Ukraine at a turning point?
Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Ravi Naik Researcher: Christopher Blake Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Mitch Goodall Broadcast Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson
(Image: Huge fire erupts on strategic bridge linking Crimea to Russia: Credit: Anadolu Agency/Getty)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the inquiry on the BBC World Service with me, Tanya Beckett. |
| 0:05.7 | One question, four expert witnesses, and an answer. |
| 0:16.5 | It is a vast symbol of triumph for President Putin. |
| 0:20.4 | The Kirch bridge stretches 19 kilometres from the annexed Crimean peninsula |
| 0:26.4 | to Russia's mainland, crossing the entrance to the Black Sea. |
| 0:31.3 | Putin himself even attended the opening of the bridge when it was completed four years ago. |
| 0:37.4 | It was, after all, a reminder of his power to re-conquer lands that had belonged to Russia |
| 0:43.7 | during its grander, more expansive past, lands that Putin deeply regretted having been lost. |
| 0:51.6 | But Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 was rejected by the international community, |
| 0:58.8 | and most angrily by Ukraine itself. |
| 1:02.5 | So, when several months into Russia's current conflict with Ukraine, |
| 1:06.5 | the Kirch bridge was badly damaged by an explosion, Putin accused Ukraine of terrorism. |
| 1:14.2 | But there was another reason for his disquiet. |
| 1:17.4 | This was deep inside Russian-controlled territory, |
| 1:21.1 | and it was yet another sign that his military operation had badly veered off course. |
| 1:29.0 | He responded by launching reprisal attacks on cities across Ukraine, causing many civilian casualties. |
| 1:37.0 | This week on the inquiry we're asking, is Putin's war in Ukraine at a turning point? |
| 1:43.9 | In 2014, Russia announced not only the occupation of parts of the east of its neighbour Ukraine, |
| 2:05.2 | but also the annexation of the strategically important Crimean peninsula. |
| 2:11.4 | The move was firmly criticized in the West as a gross violation of international law. |
| 2:18.1 | Eight years later, in February of this year, Russia's president Vladimir Putin launched what |
| 2:24.0 | was this time a full-scale invasion of the whole of Ukraine. |
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