Why the Crimean bridge is the key to the Russian war in Ukraine

On Monday, a series of explosions damaged part of the only bridge connecting the Russian Federation with Crimea, the latest attack on Moscow's key link with the annexed peninsula, the review publishes ABCNEWS.

According to Russian state media, the explosions occurred at dawn, killing a married couple and injuring their daughter. The Crimean Bridge - Europe's longest - remains open to trains but is currently closed to vehicular traffic as Russian authorities assess the damage before determining how long repairs will take. Footage from the scene on Monday morning showed the damaged section tilted and hanging down.

Russian officials said the strike was carried out by Ukrainian naval drones and called the incident a terrorist attack. Ukrainian officials have not yet made public comments on this matter.

This is the second major explosion on the Crimean Bridge since October last year, when a truck loaded with explosives detonated both the road and rail sections. The renovation took several months: the automobile part was opened in February, and the railway part was opened in May.

Russian troops invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, a move condemned by most of the world as an illegal move that prompted the United States and the European Union to impose sanctions on Moscow. But Russian President Vladimir Putin ignored the criticism and ordered the construction of a nearly 3,6-mile-long, $12 billion bridge across the Kerch Strait, which separates mainland Russia from Crimea.

After two years of construction, Putin announced the opening of the road section of the Crimean Bridge in 2018. The railway section was completed the following year.

The bridge established Russia's first land link with Crimea – connecting the southern Russian region of Krasnodar with the port of the Kerch Peninsula – and thus has great symbolic significance. Moscow portrayed the bridge as a physical confirmation of Crimea's accession to Russia. The only land crossing from Crimea leads to the rest of Ukraine, and until the bridge is completed, vehicles coming from Russia are forced to rely on ferries across the Kerch Strait, which are often interrupted by bad weather.

The Crimean bridge became a key supply route for the Russian military after Russian forces invaded Ukraine again in 2022 and the conflict escalated into full-scale war. The bridge remains critical to Russia's military operations in southern Ukraine as Ukrainian forces mount a massive counteroffensive to retake Russian-held territory.

Ukrainian forces have also recently targeted other bridges connecting Crimea with southern regions, which analysts say is an attempt to undermine Russia's ability to supply its lines in the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions.