The Crimea Bridge, a crucial supply line for Russian troops in Ukraine, has suffered damage in what Russian officials described as an “emergency” incident, resulting in the loss of two lives and injuries to a child. Ukrainian media also reported hearing blasts on the bridge, further adding to the complexity of the situation.
Russian authorities confirmed that traffic on the bridge, which connects Russia to Crimea, was halted following the incident. Video footage from Reuters showed a complete absence of vehicles on the bridge. The 19-kilometer (12-mile) road and rail bridge has been a source of pride for President Vladimir Putin, who famously drove a Mercedes across it in 2022 after it was repaired following an earlier explosion.
Sergei Aksyonov, a governor appointed by Russia, revealed that the emergency occurred at the 145th pillar of the bridge, which links the Crimean peninsula to the Russian region of Krasnodar. However, no further details regarding the nature of the incident were provided.
Russia’s transport ministry acknowledged damage to the road section of the bridge closer to the Crimean Peninsula but did not mention any harm to the pillars. The ministry did not provide information on the cause of the damage. On the other hand, the RBC-Ukraine news agency reported hearing explosions on the bridge.
According to the Grey Zone channel, a widely followed Telegram channel associated with the Wagner mercenary group, the bridge was struck twice at 03:04 a.m. (0004 GMT) and 03:20. However, these reports could not be independently verified by Reuters. There has been no immediate comment from Ukraine regarding the incident.
Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov of Russia’s Belgorod region stated that a couple traveling with their daughter in a passenger car on the bridge had tragically lost their lives, while the daughter sustained injuries. However, no details were provided on how the fatalities occurred.
Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Odesa military administration, shared a photo on his Telegram account showing what appeared to be a damaged section of the bridge. It remains unclear whether this is related to the reported attack or incident.
The potential ramifications of the bridge incident on the U.N.-brokered deal for the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea are uncertain. The agreement is set to expire today, with the last ship having departed from the port of Odesa early on Sunday, as witnessed by Reuters and confirmed by MarineTraffic.com. Ukraine and Russia are major players in the global grain export market.
If the bridge has sustained significant damage, it could have a significant impact on Russian supply lines, as pointed out by George Barros, an analyst at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. Barros emphasized that Russia would be left with only one ground supply line, the coastal highway on the Sea of Azov, to sustain or evacuate tens of thousands of troops in occupied Kherson and Crimea if the bridge were degraded or destroyed.
The Crimean Bridge, constructed by a company owned by Putin’s ally Arkady Rotenberg, stands as a symbol of Putin’s showcase infrastructure projects. It is Europe’s longest bridge, and Putin has long praised the endeavor, remarking that Russian tsars and Soviet leaders had dreamed of its construction but never accomplished it.
