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The bridge - also known as Kerch Bridge - was built by Russia after it invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Ukrainians are already comparing it with other notable military successes since Russia's full-scale invasion, including the sinking of the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, the Moskva, and the bombing of the Kerch Bridge, both in 2022, as well as a missile attack on Sevastopol harbour the following year.

After its annexation in 2014 Putin sought to cement Russia's control over Crimea, first with a 12-mile bridge built over the Kerch Strait in 2018 and then by capturing a land bridge along the Sea of Azov coast in 2022.

Satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify have shown a major oil slick spreading across the Kerch Strait that separates Russia from annexed Crimea, a month after two oil tankers were badly damaged in the Black Sea.

"In general, Russia has suffered more than any other country so far from the Kerch Strait accident," Dmitry Markin of Greenpeace said.