President Vladimir Putin’s flagship bridge to Crimea was severely damaged in a blast that hit a fuel train and caused the partial collapse of the only road link running from the Russian mainland to the Black Sea peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014.
Local authorities raced on Saturday to reopen one lane of the Kerch Strait Bridge to automobile traffic with full security checks. Rail service resumed after the first stage of repairs, Russia’s state-run Tass news service reported.
The bridge is critical for the Kremlin to resupply its forces in Crimea and in the southern Kherson region of Ukraine, where Russian troops are facing a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Cargo trains have resumed crossings, with passenger trains to follow, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said on Telegram Saturday.
