So unless the train was a complete coincidence (which is hard to believe), wouldn’t the IED remote operators have needed a camera on the truck with a live feed to them? Although apparently mundane, getting such a camera mounted on the vehicle without the driver’s knowledge (or with his agreement using a phony innocent explanation) – and knowing in advance they could, as part of the plan – seems like a major hurdle in that scenario.
I think the secret services responsible of the bombing had the means to monitor the truck via satellite. Also probably they knew a freight train would pass by exactly at that time because there most probably is a regular supply delivery schedule in place for Russian depots. I cannot believe fuel gets restocked ad-hoc.
It’s not a question of whether there was a train scheduled, but knowing the moment the truck was next to it, assuming an unwitting diver.
Just saying “satellite” doesn’t really answer the question. There may or not be such a thing as real-time video from spy satellites, but you’d still have to pre-arrange to have one or more flying over that area at a particular time. How do you ensure your innocent driver doesn’t take an extra half hour at lunch, or whatever?
Also, anything involving advanced military/intelligence satellite capabilities means total U.S. involvement at an operational level, again in real time. That’s not impossible, of course, but it’s certainly not a given.
The very head photo at the top of this post shows a still frame from satellite of the train on fire.
Truck drivers have tight schedules. They cannot transport freight leisurely when they feel like. If he had to deliver in Crimea from Krasnodar at an agreed time, he would have to traverse the bridge inside a specific time window, made to overlap with the time window (scheduled) of the passage of the train over the bridge.
If something were to happen and the coincidence was missed, they would just remove the bomb from the truck at the first occasion available. Maybe they did in fact miss the coincidence in previous failed attempts, and this was the first to succeed. Who are we to tell?
The train was likely a target of opportunity. Every truck travelling on the bridge is likely to pass several trains depending on how busy it is and the VBIED can blow at any segment of the bridge and still destroy the span. All the triggerman has to do is check the schedule, estimate the passing point, then watch and wait. Much easier to do when the triggerman is in a NATO command center watching the satellite feed.
What about this possibility? It was a remote controlled detonator on the truck. SBU operatives who managed this were following the truck in a car, when they felt it was best to detonate, they passed, accelerated, but kept a watch and detonated as the train was passing. Oh, and they didn't need to follow the truck the whole way to the bridge. They knew the drivers schedule so roughly when he would arrive and could have just waited there for him.
Question: Did the Russians have the smarts to close the bridge on the Crimean side straight after the explosion. If they did they might have caught the perpetrators.
So unless the train was a complete coincidence (which is hard to believe), wouldn’t the IED remote operators have needed a camera on the truck with a live feed to them? Although apparently mundane, getting such a camera mounted on the vehicle without the driver’s knowledge (or with his agreement using a phony innocent explanation) – and knowing in advance they could, as part of the plan – seems like a major hurdle in that scenario.
I think the secret services responsible of the bombing had the means to monitor the truck via satellite. Also probably they knew a freight train would pass by exactly at that time because there most probably is a regular supply delivery schedule in place for Russian depots. I cannot believe fuel gets restocked ad-hoc.
It’s not a question of whether there was a train scheduled, but knowing the moment the truck was next to it, assuming an unwitting diver.
Just saying “satellite” doesn’t really answer the question. There may or not be such a thing as real-time video from spy satellites, but you’d still have to pre-arrange to have one or more flying over that area at a particular time. How do you ensure your innocent driver doesn’t take an extra half hour at lunch, or whatever?
Also, anything involving advanced military/intelligence satellite capabilities means total U.S. involvement at an operational level, again in real time. That’s not impossible, of course, but it’s certainly not a given.
The very head photo at the top of this post shows a still frame from satellite of the train on fire.
Truck drivers have tight schedules. They cannot transport freight leisurely when they feel like. If he had to deliver in Crimea from Krasnodar at an agreed time, he would have to traverse the bridge inside a specific time window, made to overlap with the time window (scheduled) of the passage of the train over the bridge.
If something were to happen and the coincidence was missed, they would just remove the bomb from the truck at the first occasion available. Maybe they did in fact miss the coincidence in previous failed attempts, and this was the first to succeed. Who are we to tell?
The train was likely a target of opportunity. Every truck travelling on the bridge is likely to pass several trains depending on how busy it is and the VBIED can blow at any segment of the bridge and still destroy the span. All the triggerman has to do is check the schedule, estimate the passing point, then watch and wait. Much easier to do when the triggerman is in a NATO command center watching the satellite feed.
What about this possibility? It was a remote controlled detonator on the truck. SBU operatives who managed this were following the truck in a car, when they felt it was best to detonate, they passed, accelerated, but kept a watch and detonated as the train was passing. Oh, and they didn't need to follow the truck the whole way to the bridge. They knew the drivers schedule so roughly when he would arrive and could have just waited there for him.
Question: Did the Russians have the smarts to close the bridge on the Crimean side straight after the explosion. If they did they might have caught the perpetrators.
entirely possible