President Vladimir Putin’s next steps in Ukraine may become clearer after he meets Monday with his top security officials, two days after a massive blast ripped through a key bridge that links annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland.
The 12-mile Kerch Strait Bridge was a signature project for Putin after the peninsula was annexed in 2014. Costing billions of dollars, the road-and-rail span was meant to symbolize the permanence of Russia’s earlier land grab in Ukraine. Putin opened the bridge himself by driving a truck across it.
Kyiv hasn’t officially taken responsibility for the Kerch incident, although it commemorated the explosion within hours with a new postage stamp. Yet the ability to target a structure thought to have been heavily secured is another embarrassment for Putin’s military as his ground forces struggle in eastern and southern Ukraine.
