The vital bridge between Russia and Crimea was blown up early this morning, prompting Ukrainian officials to ridicule Vladimir Putin with a video of Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President.”
Just hours after Putin’s 70th birthday yesterday, a massive explosion in a truck destroyed a portion of the road bridge into the sea and ignited seven oil tanks on a train on the nearby railway bridge.
Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov rubbed the Russian dictator’s nose in the latest blow to his campaign in Ukraine by posting a video of Marilyn Monroe performing the song alongside footage of the destroyed bridge.
In 1962, at Madison Square Garden, Monroe sang Happy Birthday to John F. Kennedy, five months before the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Mr. Danilov tweeted the link with the remark “Good morning, Ukraine!” The video has received over 430,000 views.
In the meantime, a senior Ukrainian military officer joked to the New York Times, “Putin ought to be pleased.” Not everyone receives such a costly birthday gift.
The day following Putin’s birthday, many others criticized him on social media as Ukraine continues to reclaim land from Russia in the south and east of the country.
Ukrainians jokingly referred to the destroyed bridge, a portion of which has fallen into the lake below, as Putin’s “exit ramp.”
This is a reference to US President Biden’s remark: “We are attempting to determine what Putin’s exit route is.” Where does he locate an exit?’
Biden was referring to Putin’s efforts to find a way out of the war after annexing four districts in eastern Ukraine while not having complete authority over them.