Russian officials announced that the Crimea Bridge, an essential supply route for Russian troops in Ukraine, was damaged during an "emergency" incident that resulted in two fatalities and a child being injured.

Ukrainian media reported explosions occurring on the bridge. As a result, traffic on the bridge, which connects Russia to Crimea and was annexed by Moscow in 2014, has been halted. Visual footage from Reuters revealed an absence of vehicles on the bridge.

The 19 km (12-mile) road and rail bridge, which has been a notable infrastructure undertaking championed by President Vladimir Putin, holds symbolic importance. In 2022, after undergoing repairs due to an explosion, Putin himself drove a Mercedes across the bridge.

The recent emergency incident, as stated by Sergei Aksyonov, a Russia-appointed governor, took place at the 145th pillar of the bridge, connecting the Crimean peninsula to the Russian region of Krasnodar. However, no additional information regarding the nature or cause of the emergency was provided.

According to Russia's transport ministry, the damage on the bridge was limited to the road section nearer to the Crimean Peninsula, and no harm was done to the pillars.

However, the ministry did not provide any information regarding the cause of the damage. On the other hand, RBC-Ukraine news agency reported that explosions were audible on the bridge. Russia's Grey Zone channel, which is associated with the Wagner mercenary group and has a significant following on Telegram, stated that two strikes occurred on the bridge at 03:04 a.m. and 03:20 a.m.

Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov of Russia's Belgorod region confirmed that a couple was killed and their daughter injured in a passenger car on the bridge. The governor did not provide details about the cause of their deaths.

A photo shared by Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for Ukraine's Odesa military administration, displayed a damaged section of the bridge, although it remains unclear if it is linked to any particular attack or incident. The circumstances surrounding the incident and the extent of the damage are yet to be determined.

George Barros, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, expressed on Twitter that the serious damage to the bridge would have a significant impact on Russian supply lines. He highlighted that if the bridge were degraded or destroyed by Ukraine, Russia would be left with only one ground supply line—the coastal highway on the Sea of Azov—to sustain or evacuate its large number of troops in occupied Kherson and Crimea. This underscores the strategic importance of the bridge for Russian operations in the region.

The implications of the bridge incident on the U.N.-brokered deal for the safe export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea remain unclear. Both Ukraine and Russia are major players in the global grain export market. The U.N. deal was set to expire on Monday, and the last ship under the agreement departed from the port of Odesa early on Sunday, according to witnesses and MarineTraffic.com.

Last October, the Crimean Bridge was previously damaged in an explosion, which the Kremlin attributed to Ukrainian security forces. While Ukraine indirectly acknowledged the attack months later, tensions between the two countries persisted. The construction of the bridge was undertaken by Arkady Rotenberg's company, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The bridge holds significance for Putin, who has praised the project and highlighted its historical significance.

Crimea has been a popular holiday destination for Russians, particularly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 made traveling to the West more challenging. In recent weeks, there have been significant traffic jams leading to the bridge as Russians embarked on vacations.

However, following the incident, authorities directed vehicles away from the bridge, and the Russian-backed administration of Crimea advised residents against traveling via the bridge.