Russian authorities closed the Kerch Bridge, which links Russia with Ukraine's occupied Crimea region, for more than four hours in the early morning hours after explosions were heard in the area.
A backlog of vehicles numbered about 2,000 waiting to cross the span early on August 16.
The blasts caused slight damage in the city of Kerch and were believed to be the result of a Ukrainian drone attack. The pro-Russian Telegram channel Crimean Wind published single footage purporting to show an explosion and claiming it had caused "a large fire."
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The 19-kilometer-long Kerch Bridge, with spans for both vehicular and rail traffic, was opened in 2018 and serves as an important supply route for Russian forces occupying parts of southern Ukraine. It was damaged by Ukrainian attacks in October 2022 and July 2023 and has frequently been closed during security incidents.
Russia's Defense Ministry said on August 15 that its air defenses had "repelled" an overnight attack that included 12 U.S.-provided ATACMS missiles and targeted the Kerch Bridge. All the missiles were reportedly "destroyed," the ministry said.
The claim could not be independently verified.
Three drones were reportedly shot down near the port city of Sevastopol, which is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
In all, the ministry said on August 15 it had "neutralized" 5 Ukrainian flying drones and five sea-based drones overnight.
"Mi-8 and Ka-29 helicopters from the Black Sea Fleet's marine air force destroyed five unmanned boats heading toward the Crimean Peninsula," the ministry's statement said.
There were social-media reports of blasts near the Chornomorsk district and the Crimean capital, Simferopol.
There were no reports of serious damage, and the Ukrainian military did not comment on the reports.
Elsewhere, authorities in the Siberian region of Irkutsk said that one crew member of a Tu-22M3 bomber that crashed during a training exercise on August 14 had died. Three others were rescued and have been hospitalized, Irkutsk region Governor Igor Kobzev wrote on Telegram.
The cause of the crash was not reported by Russian authorities.