ANKARA (AA) - A huge explosion early Saturday hit the Kerch Bridge, a key supply route for Russia which was built after it annexed Crimea in 2014.

An ensuing fire caused the suspension of traffic and bus and train services.

The bridge, the longest in Europe, crosses the Kerch Strait on the Sea of Azov.

It cost $3.7 billion and has a length of 19 kilometers (12 miles), making it the longest bridge built by Russia.

The bridge -- a pair of parallel bridges, a road and a railroad -- is a symbol of the annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s prestige projects. It is a crucial logistical link for the Russian army.

It was a key transport link providing military materials to the Russian army deployed in southern Ukraine, as well as transporting forces to the area.

The attack is considered a nasty blow to the Russian military prestige and supply chains for the invasion of the peninsula.

The bridge allows Russia to maintain its strategic domain in Crimea and to put lasting economic and political pressure on Ukraine.

The road-and-rail bridge, built upon instructions by Putin, was inaugurated in 2018, while the railway bridge was opened two years later.

Ukraine, the EU and the US have all condemned the bridge connecting Russia to a peninsula they say is under illegal occupation.

In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula after a controversial referendum. Moscow has since pursued a policy of integrating the peninsula through transport and infrastructure projects.

Türkiye, as well as the UN General Assembly, views the annexation as illegal.

Three people were killed in the "truck bombing" on the strategic bridge, according to Russian investigators.

Russia's Investigative Committee added that the driver of the truck is a resident of the Krasnodar Krai region in Russia.

Zehra Nur Duz/AA

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WHAT HAS BEEN DESTROYED

The blast on Saturday brought down sections of road taking traffic in one direction.

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