Traffic on the road-and-rail bridge connecting Russia and the Crimean peninsula was halted early Monday due to an “emergency situation,” according to Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-backed head of Crimea’s administration. Explosions were heard on the bridge, according to RBC-Ukraine, with Russian military bloggers reporting two strikes. The bridge serves as an important supply route for the Russian military in Ukraine. The reports could not be independently verified by Reuters. Ukraine did not respond immediately.
In October, the bridge was destroyed by a huge explosion, which Russian officials blamed on a truck that blew up while crossing the bridge, killing three people. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the October bombing a “terrorist attack” orchestrated by Ukrainian security forces and has ordered a wave of retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy only implicitly claimed responsibility for the strike months later, naming the bridge as one of his army’s “successes” in 2022.
The following are some important facts concerning the Crimea Bridge
Russia and Crimea Link
The Crimea Bridge, which spans the Kerch Strait, is the only direct link between Russia’s transportation network and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The bridge was a showcase project for President Putin, who drove a vehicle across it to open it to road traffic in 2018.
It is made out of a separate roadway and railway, both supported by concrete stilts, that give way to a bigger span supported by steel arches at the point where ships pass between the Black Sea and the smaller Azov Sea. It was built at a reported cost of $3.6 billion by Arkady Rotenberg, President Putin’s close ally and old judo partner.
Why Does It Matter?
The bridge is critical for delivering petroleum, food, and other goods to Crimea, where the port of Sevastopol has long served as the home base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. It also served as a significant supply route for Russian soldiers after Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24, sending forces from Crimea to take most of southern Ukraine’s Kherson region and some of the adjoining Zaporizhzhia province.