A key bridge linking the Crimean peninsula with mainland Russia has been partially destroyed in a truck explosion, Russian media reported, putting at risk a key supply route for Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

The speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, called it “an act of war” as the country’s investigative committee said on Saturday it had “initiated a criminal case in connection with the incident on the Crimean bridge,” adding that “a truck was blown up”.

The fire occurred hours after explosions rocked the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv early on Saturday, sending towering plumes of smoke into the sky and triggering a series of secondary explosions.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram that the early-morning explosions were the result of missile strikes in the centre of the city.

He said that the blasts sparked fires at one of the city’s medical institutions and a non-residential building. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

In September, Russia announced the annexation of the provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia after staging referendums that Kyiv and the West say were phoney exercises held at gunpoint.

Ukraine’s military in recent weeks has pushed back against Russian forces across the front lines in the south and the east, including in parts of Donetsk. Western weaponry has helped the Ukrainian army win back more territory in the past month than Russian forces have taken in five months.

source aljazeera.com