Blast on Russia bridge to Crimea threatens Moscow supply route

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A symbolic blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his campaign against Ukraine was caused by the partial destruction of the Kerch Bridge on Saturday.

It endangers a crucial route for Russian military supplies to support its forces in southern Ukraine if the bridge is damaged.

Sergei Aksyonov said that the road portion of the bridge collapsed as a result of an accident. Aksyonov said that fuel tanks have caught fire.

Russian media reported that a truck was blown up on the bridge. The explosion caused a partial collapse of two spans.

The Transport Ministry expects rail traffic to resume later in the day after the road portion of the bridge was partially reopened.

According to Russian media, the head of the Russian-installed regional parliament in Crimea blamed the damage to the bridge on the Ukrainians.

Ukrainian officials celebrated the blast on social media. The guided missile cruiser Moskva and the Kerch Bridge were sunk by the Ukrainian military earlier this year. russkies, what are the next steps?

The Kerch bridge, which connects the peninsula with the mainland of Russia, was opened personally by Putin in the middle of last year. The construction of the bridge was slammed by both the Western and Ukrainian governments.

The bridge has been crucial for the transfer of manpower, weapons and fuel to Russian units fighting in southern Ukraine.

Russian media said that Putin ordered a commission to investigate the emergency on the bridge.

The damaged bridge will be removed on Saturday and ferry service will begin there.

Over the last few months, Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said that they plan to target the bridge. The secretary of the National Security and Defense Council said in a radio interview that the bridge will be hit.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in a statement that "everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, and everything occupied by Russia must be returned."

Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has regained more territory from Russia. Zelenskyy said that the soldiers freed 776 square kilometers of territory in the east of the country.

The Defense Ministry of Russia said on Saturday that a new commander had been appointed.