Saturday's bombing of the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia with the Crimean Peninsula, threatens a key supply route for Pres. Putin's forces in southern Ukraine.
effort in southern Ukraine. Russian authorities said a truck bomb caused the blast and that three people were killed.
The speaker of the Russian-backed regional parliament in Crimea accused Ukraine of the bombing, but Moscow didn't apportion blame. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly threatened to strike the bridge, and some lauded the destruction on Saturday. But Kyiv stopped short of claiming responsibility. The speaker of Crimea's Kremlin-backed regional parliament immediately accused Ukraine, though the Kremlin didn't apportion blame. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly threatened to strike the bridge and some lauded the attack, but Kyiv stopped short of claiming responsibility.
Surovikin had led Russian forces in Syria and was accused of overseeing a brutal bombardment that destroyed much of the city of Aleppo.The Kerch Bridge opened in 2018 and is a tangible symbol of Moscow's claims on Crimea. It has provided an essential link to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The $3.6 billion bridge, the longest in Europe, is vital to sustaining Russia's military operations in southern Ukraine.