An explosion, variously claimed to be caused by a truck, a boat or shelling, took out a span of the recently-opened road bridge linking Russia and Crimea, and triggered a serious fire on the adjacent rail bridge. Russia claims the bridge has already been reopened in the hours since, and that three people are reported dead. The bridge is "key to moving Russian equipment into Ukraine".
The BBC's analyst writes that it signals "dire" trouble for Russia that Ukraine was apparently able to launch this attack and to have succeeded.
The damage to the Kerch bridge – which links Russia to Crimea – poses a strategic setback for Moscow's troops, according to Dr Samuel Ramani, author of 'Putin's war on Ukraine'. "They have more than 20,000 forces that are stuck in Kherson right now. They've lost access to bridges, they're relying on pontoon ferries, and they desperately need ammunition, food and supplies from Crimea," he says. Russia is strategically in a more dire situation than it was at the start of the week, he adds.
