Russia-Ukraine war - Moscow has stated that two Ukrainian missiles were directed at a bridge connecting Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula. Videos circulating on social media depict smoke plumes rising near the Kerch bridge. According to Russia's defense ministry, S-200 missiles were employed in the attack but were successfully intercepted and caused no damage.

As of now, Ukraine has not provided any response regarding the reported incident. This isn't the first time the bridge has been targeted in recent months, with at least two prior attacks.

The Kerch bridge, inaugurated in 2018, facilitates road and rail transportation between Russia and Crimea—a region annexed by Russia in 2014 from Ukraine. The bridge is a crucial supply route for Russian forces stationed in parts of southern Ukraine.

Russia's defense ministry has asserted that the alleged attack occurred on Saturday around 13:00 (10:00 GMT), using S-200 missiles. These Cold War-era surface-to-air weapons, initially designed for taking down enemy aircraft, seem to have been adapted for ground-attack purposes.

In response, Russia's foreign ministry has indicated that such "barbaric actions" will not go unanswered.

Crimea's governor, Sergei Aksyonov, appointed by Russia, later reported that a third rocket had been intercepted and shot down above the Kerch Strait.

Earlier on the same day, Russia asserted that it had successfully taken down 20 Ukrainian drones near the peninsula.
An adviser to Mr. Aksyonov conveyed that traffic had been suspended, and the observed smoke was a deliberate "smokescreen" generated by the military.

While Kyiv has yet to confirm either the attack or the weaponry employed, if validated, it would constitute the latest in a series of Ukrainian endeavors to undermine the bridge.

In the previous month, the Ukrainian website Euromaidan Press asserted that modified S-200 missiles were utilized to target the bridge as well as two military installations in Russia's Rostov and Bryansk Oblasts.

Also in the same month, an explosion resulted in two casualties and one injury when the bridge was impacted.

Though Kyiv did not officially acknowledge responsibility for the incident, a source within its security service informed BBC Russian that they were behind it and that water-based drones were employed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky subsequently commented that the bridge served as a legitimate military target, providing Russia's war campaign "with ammunition on a daily basis."

"Understandably, this is a target for us. And a target that is bringing war, not peace, has to be neutralised," he added. An explosion on the bridge in October remains unresolved. Footage from that time depicted a massive fireball erupting as numerous vehicles traversed the bridge.

The bridge underwent partial closure and was only fully reopened in February.
Kyiv has consistently expressed intentions to regain Crimea and all territories seized by Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

An apparent escalation in military operations near the bridge aligns with Kyiv's ongoing summer offensive against Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
Mr. Zelensky acknowledged that progress has been "slower than desired" due to his Western-equipped forces confronting Russia's well-prepared defensive lines.

Moscow has also attributed a series of drone attacks on Moscow to Ukraine, including strikes on the Kremlin and a tower block housing government ministries.

Although not officially confirming Ukrainian involvement, Mr. Zelensky remarked that "gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia... this is an inevitable, natural, and entirely justifiable process."

Meanwhile, Russia persists in targeting civilian sites in Ukraine, including lethal missile strikes that recently obliterated a blood transfusion center in Kharkiv and a residential area in Zaporizhzhia.