Business executives from China and Russia with close links to the governments of the two countries have discussed plans to build an underwater tunnel to connect the Russian mainland to Crimea, which was illegally seized and annexed by Russia in 2014, The Washington Post reported on November 24. The newspaper cited materials received from the Ukrainian intelligence services. The report said the secret talks indicated Moscow's fears over the safety of the 18-kilometer Kerch Strait bridge, which has been hit and damaged multiple times by Ukrainian missile and drone strikes.