An explosion on the bridge connecting Crimea with Russia, oil tankers caught fire

 Russian officials have said that on Saturday, a car exploded on the main bridge connecting Crimea with Russia, and oil tankers passing nearby caught fire.

The French news agency AFP, citing Russian news agencies, said that the explosion occurred at 6:70 a.m., causing oil tankers passing by to catch fire.

Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014, having previously been part of Ukraine.

The bridge that was the target of the blast was said to have been built on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin and was inaugurated by President Putin himself in 2018.

The bridge is an important means of providing military and other supplies to the Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, while troops also pass through here.

Russia still secured the bridge during the war and threatened Ukraine with retaliation if it was attacked.

Ria, Novosti and Tas news agencies quoted a local official, Oleg Kirchkov, as saying that traffic on the bridge had been stopped after the tankers caught fire.

In the photos shared on social media, flames can be seen on the bridge.

These images and reports could not be immediately verified.

Apart from the road, the railway track also passes through this bridge.

Loud explosions were heard and clouds of smoke were seen rising in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv before the explosion.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Trekov said in a message on Telegram that missiles were fired at the city in the morning, causing a fire in a residential building and a medical institute in the city, while there were no immediate reports of casualties. .

This week, Russian President Putin "illegally" declared four regions of Ukraine as part of Russia. These include the region of Raporizia, home to Europe's largest nuclear plant, whose reactors were shut down last month.