A truck bomb Saturday caused a fire and the collapse of a section of a bridge linking Russia-annexed Crimea with Russia, damaging a key supply route for Moscow's faltering war effort in southern Ukrainian.
The speaker of the region's parliament immediately accused Ukraine. The attack on the bridge was praised by some but the Ukrainians stopped short of claiming responsibility.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was dealt a blow on his 70th birthday that could lead him to escalate his war on Ukraine.
A truck bomb caused seven railway cars carrying fuel to catch fire, causing a partial collapse of two sections of the bridge.
Russia's military operations in the south are dependent on the symbolic value of the peninsula. It would be more difficult to get supplies to the peninsula if the bridge is not working. While Russia built a land corridor to the north of the Sea of Azov during the invasion, Ukraine is pressing a counteroffensive to regain control of the area.
The bridge has both cars and trains on it. The collapse of the two sections of one of the two links of the automobile bridge was caused by the explosion and fire.
The Energy Ministry said that the peninsula has enough fuel for 15 days.
There was a suspension of passenger train traffic across the bridge. Putin created a government panel to deal with the emergency after learning of the explosion.
The longest bridge in Europe is the one that spans the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It has given an essential link to the peninsula.
The project is a sign of Moscow's claims. The only land link to the peninsula was built by Russian forces around the city of Mariupol on the northern end of the Sea of Azov.
The speaker of the regional parliament said that the explosion was caused by Ukraine, but downplayed the severity of the damage.
The Chairman of the State Council of the Republic wrote that they have something to be proud of because they didn't build anything worthy of attention but they did damage the bridge.
The leader of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's party said on Saturday that the incident was caused by Moscow's attempt to integrate the peninsula with the Russian mainland.
Russian construction is collapsing and catching fire. David Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People party, wrote on Telegram that building an explosion is the reason.
This is not the end. Reliable construction is not something Russia is known for.
The other Ukrainian officials stopped short of saying they were responsible. The secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council posted a video with a fire on the left side and a Marilyn Monroe song on the right side.
Mykhailo Podolyak is an advisor to Zelenskyy. Everything that is illegal must be destroyed and everything that is stolen must be returned to Ukraine.
Maria Zakharova is the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Russia's vulnerability was underscored in August by a series of explosions at an air base.
Hours after the explosions in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, there was an explosion on the bridge.
Missile strikes in the center of the city caused the early morning explosions, according to the mayor. The blasts caused fires at one of the city's medical institutions. There were no reports of people dying.
The blasts came hours after Russia focused attacks on areas it illegally annexed, while the death toll from earlier missile strikes on apartment buildings in the south of the country rose to 17.
The prize was awarded to human rights organizations in Russia and Ukraine, as well as to an activist jailed in Belarus, an ally of the Russian Federation.
It was widely seen as a rebuke to Putin and his conduct of Europe's worst armed conflict since World War II, though the honor went to three outstanding defenders of human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence.
The Zaporizhzhia region is home to Europe's largest nuclear power plant and was shut down last month.
The annexation of the peninsula by Russia was preceded by residents of the peninsula voting to join the country. The move caused sanctions from the U.S. and the EU.
That's right.
Adam Schreck was reporting from Ukranian. There is a report from Kharkiv.
That's right.
The AP is covering the war in Russia.
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