Ukrainian Strike Disables Bridge Between Crimea and Russia

A Ukrainian strike disabled the only road bridge connecting Russia with the occupied Crimean Peninsula, hitting once again a major symbol of President Vladimir Putin’s rule and constricting Russian supplies to the front lines in southern Ukraine.

Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee said Kyiv used two naval drones against the bridge, hitting the structure at around 3 a.m. local time on Monday. Ukrainian media, citing government sources, also said that naval drones were involved.

Artem Degtyarenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service, told news agency Interfax Ukraine that all the details of how the attack had been organized would be made public after Ukraine’s victory. “Any illegal structures used to deliver Russian instruments of mass murder are necessarily short-lived,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser.

Footage from the Kerch Bridge, which runs 12 miles and cost $4 billion to build, showed a westbound span of the highway collapsed and the parallel eastbound span displaced. This means that it would likely take weeks, if not months, for traffic on the vital artery to resume. A separate rail bridge, which is more important for military supplies, was intact. Rail traffic across the Kerch Strait resumed Monday.