Kerch Bridge Damaged In Attack, Black Sea Deal To Expire Midnight

Traffic on the strategically important Kerch bridge, connecting Crimea with the Russia mainland, has been suspended following a drone attack late last night.

• Wires carrying comments from the Russian Investigative Committee stating that, the attack, which killed two adults, was carried out by Ukrainian Special Services.
• The 19km bridge - built after the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014 and considered strategically vital to the Peninsula's supply lines - was the target of a Ukrainian attack last October. The bridge was rebuilt rapidly after that attack with Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly driving across the bridge shortly after.
• George Barros, at the Institute for the Study of War, said on twitter that the attack could impact Russia's ability to supply its frontlines: "Russia will only have one ground supply line - the coastal highway on the Sea of Azov - to sustain (or evacuate) its tens of thousands of troops in occupied Kherson & Crimea if UKR manages to degrade/destroy the bridge."
• The attack may further imperil the Black Sea Grain deal which is set to expire at midnight tonight (Istanbul time).