A significant border between Russia and the annexed Crimea has been temporarily closed as a result of a Ukrainian missile attack.
The Kerch Bridge’s traffic was stopped in both directions after Russian air forces claimed they had shot down a missile nearby.
According to the Russian research group Rybar, Ukraine employed a “modernised missile from an S-200 complex with a range of about 250 miles.”
According to sources, the weapon was brought down on Sunday on the Kerch, or Crimean, side of the 10-mile bridge.
It appears there were no casualties but any damage to the bridge will be seen as a blow to Moscow.
The bridge is largely seen as a vanity project for Vladimir Putin, who ordered the £3 billion crossing to be built after he illegally invaded Crimea in 2014.
It was severely damaged last October when a ‘truck bomb’ blew up and killed at least three people, Russian investigators said at the time.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky previously said his government ‘did not order’ the attack but his deputy minister of defence, Hanna Maliar, seemingly admitted responsibility over the weekend.
As part of a list of 12 Ukrainian achievements posted on Telegram, he said: ‘273 days ago, (we) launched the first strike on the Crimean bridge to disrupt Russian logistics.’
Sergey Aksyonov, head of the pro-Russian government in Crimea, said: ‘In the Kerch area, air defence forces shot down a cruise missile. No damage or casualties.
‘I ask everyone to remain calm and rely only on trusted sources of information.’
Russia was already fearful of disgruntled Wagner fighters, who have turned against Putin, would try to destroy the bridge.
Last week, tourists heading to the Black Sea peninsula faced severe delays of up to seven hours, as each vehicle was subject to strict security checks.
Guards went to extremes, which included sending children to get x-rays and inspecting every single section of the cars, such as the glove compartments, according to citizen information service InformNapalm.
Now, Russian war channels are discussing the possibility the Ukrainian military will set its sights on the bridge again.
Kyiv previously made a video targeted at Russians planning holidays in Crimea, warning them to ‘stay away’.
The slightly bizarre clip, which was released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, starts with the question: ‘Big plans this summer?’
It begins like a budget ad with grainy clips of surfers in the water, with captions that read: ‘A travel advisory is in effect for certain beaches.
’We warned you last summer to stay away from Crimea.’
The video then suddenly cuts to images of explosions and tourists fleeing missile attacks. A Russian woman is also shown crying in the back of a car.
‘Our seasonal forecast calls for stormy weather,’ it warns finally before ending with lightning.