Why the new attack on Russia's Kerch Bridge in Crimea matters

Russia’s Kerch Strait Bridge linking the country’s mainland to Crimea was attacked in the early morning hours of June 17th and reports indicate that this all-too-important piece of infrastructure may be knocked out again. But what happened and why is this important?

Two separate strikes were reportedly carried out around 3:00 am local time according to a CNN report which drew its information from a Wagner Group Telegram channel called The Grey Zone, which claimed that parts of the bridge had been damaged by an attack. 

Explosions were allegedly heard at 3:04 am and 3:20 am but those reports could not be verified by CNN. Despite not knowing the confirmed time of the attack, we do know that something happened since Russian officials have commented on what has happened. 

The Governor of Russia’s Belgorod Oblast Vyacheslav Gladkov confirmed at least two people were killed and one was injured in the attack according to a statement Gladkov made to Russia’s Zvezda News, which was later reported on by the New York Times. 

The Russian Ministry of Transportation also acknowledged the attack on the Kerch Bridge and issued a statement on its Telegram channel noting that there was damage to spans of the bridge’s roadway and images of partially collapsed spans have begun circulating. 

Sergey Aksyonov is Head of the Republic of Crimea—the Russian-backed government on the peninsula—and he noted in a message on his Telegram that an emergency had stopped traffic on the bridge at the 145th support.

"Measures are being taken to restore the situation," Sergey Aksyonov wrote according to BBC News. “I ask residents and guests of the peninsula to refrain from traveling through the Crimean bridge and, for security reasons, choose an alternative land route through new regions." 

While details are still being parsed it is clear the Kerch Strait Bridge has been attacked again and that Russian officials are blaming Ukraine for what some are already calling a terrorist attack on the crucial connection between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula. 

“Tonight the terrorist regime in Kyiv committed a new crime—it attacked the Crimean bridge,” wrote Vladimir Konstantinov, the Head of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea, on Telegram according to a translation of his message by CNN. 

Konstantinov noted that the bridge’s railway had not been damaged in the attack and blamed Ukraine for attacking the Kerch Bridge and CNN has reported that an unnamed official from Ukraine’s Security Services (SBU) has taken credit for the attack. 

NBC News reported that the bridge was hit by naval drones, which was also claimed to be how the bridge was struck according to Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee. But why does it matter if the Kerch Bridge was attacked again by Ukrainian forces?

The Kerch Bridge not only holds symbolic importance as a structure that exemplifies the Russian annexation of Ukrainian land, but it is also of vital strategic importance for the Kremlin’s current war effort in Ukraine. Without it, Russia can’t properly supply its troops. 

“The bridge is crucial for the supply of fuel, food, and other products to Crimea, where the port of Sevastopol is the historic home base of Russia's Black Sea Fleet,” Reuters noted in a report on the unfolding incident. 

“It also became a major supply route for Russian forces after Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, sending forces from Crimea to seize most of southern Ukraine's Kherson region and some of the adjoining Zaporizhzhia province,” the Reuters report added. 

Losing the ability to move troops and supplies into Ukraine through the Crimean route could prove to be a major hindrance to Russian forces and the new attack on the bridge could mean we’re about to see a major escalation in Ukraine’s counter-offensive. 

The Kerch Bridge was first taken out of action in October 2022 following an explosion on the bridge that kept it partially closed until February 2023 according to BBC News. How this new attack will affect the bridge is yet to be seen but it certainly won’t be good.