Blast Disables Traffic Over Bridge From Russia To Crimea

An early morning blast and ensuing fire hit a section of the dual road-and-rail Crimea Bridge over the Kerch Strait and a span of the road bridge collapsed into the sea on October 8. A helicopter helped extinguish the blaze of several oil-carrying train carriages. The three-year-old, 19-kilometer bridge -- whose construction was launched by Moscow soon after it annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014 -- became a symbol of Russian revanchism and has been used to transfer troops, weapons, equipment, and fuel from Russia to Ukraine during the current invasion. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an official investigation into the bridge incident, and Russian Investigative Committee representatives were seen on the bridge hours later.