According to the Russian state news agency TASS, Russian authorities banned vessels loaded outside of Russia and Russian-occupied territories from crossing the Kerch Strait from the Black Sea into the Azov Sea.
The move comes over a month after the bridge over the Kerch Strait, which connects occupied Crimea and mainland Russia, was damaged as a result of an explosion. Moscow accused Ukraine of the Oct. 8 attack. Kyiv hasn't officially commented on its alleged involvement.
The bridge over the Kerch Strait, a symbol of Russian occupation of the Crimean Peninsula, had served as a crucial supply route for Moscow's forces fighting in Ukraine's occupied south.
An explosion on the illegally constructed bridge caused a fire on the span that carries railway traffic.
Despite ongoing Russian attempts to rebuild the bridge, it probably won't be fully functional until at least September 2023, according to the U.K. Defense Ministry.
