Vladimir Putin has tightened security after a massive blast partially destroyed the vital bridge linking Russia to Crimea; officials are still investigating the cause of the explosion in Donegal; flash flooding in eastern Australia; follow the latest here.
| An explosion caused the partial collapse of a bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with Russia, damaging an important supply artery for the Kremlin’s faltering war effort in southern Ukraine and hitting a towering symbol of Russian power in the region.
Hours after the explosion, Russia’s Defence Ministry announced that air force chief Gen. Sergei Surovikin would now command all Russian troops in Ukraine. Surovikin, who this summer was placed in charge of troops in southern Ukraine, had led Russian forces in Syria and was accused of overseeing a bombardment that destroyed much of Aleppo.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a video address, indirectly acknowledged the bridge attack but did not address its cause. Zelensky also said Ukrainian forces advanced or held the line in the east and south, but acknowledged “very, very difficult, very tough fighting” around the city of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russian forces have claimed recent gains.