Russia strikes back after bridge bombing

Russian missiles rained down on Ukrainian cities Monday, including the capital of Kyiv. Vladimir Putin said the onslaught was retaliation for a truck bombing Saturday on a 12-mile-long bridge connecting the disputed Crimean Peninsula to Russia. Two of the bridge’s sections partially collapsed, snarling and slowing traffic along a crucial supply route for Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but Putin blamed Ukraine. Three people died in the explosion.

How does this development affect the war? Russia completed construction on the bridge in 2018, four years after it annexed Crimea. The explosion hampers Russian efforts to supply troops in southern Ukraine, particularly in the Kherson province. The region is one of four that Moscow claimed to annex at the end of September.

Dig deeper: Listen to Myrna Brown interview retired U.S. Army Lt. General Thomas Spoehr on The World and Everything in It podcast about Ukrainian military gains.