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Moscow: Car Bomb Sparked Fire on Key Crimean Bridge

The Crimean bridge and the fire sparked by the car bomb. Photo: Twitter
The Crimean bridge and the fire sparked by the car bomb. Photo: Twitter
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Moscow: Car Bomb Sparked Fire on Key Crimean Bridge

The Crimean bridge and the fire sparked by the car bomb. Photo: Twitter
The Crimean bridge and the fire sparked by the car bomb. Photo: Twitter

A fire sparked by a car bomb has broken out on a key road and rail bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula to Russia, which annexed the territory from Ukraine in 2014, Moscow authorities said Saturday.

"Today at 6:07 am (0307 GMT) on the road traffic side of the Crimean bridge ... a car bomb exploded, setting fire to seven oil tankers being carried by rail to Crimea," Russian news agencies cited the national anti-terrorism committee as saying.

The bridge, which was built on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin and inaugurated in 2018, was a key transport link for carrying military equipment to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, especially in the south, as well as ferrying troops there.

Russia had maintained the bridge was safe despite the fighting in Ukraine but had threatened Kyiv with reprisals if it was attacked.

In September, Russia announced the annexation of the provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia after staging referendums that Kyiv and the West say were phony exercises held at gunpoint.

A Ukrainian presidential advisor posted a message on Twitter after Saturday's explosion and fire on the Crimean bridge, calling it "the beginning" but not directly claiming Ukrainian responsibility.

"Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled," Mykhailo Podolyak wrote.

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World

South Korea Condemns Attack on Cargo Ship in Strait of Hormuz, Vows Response

The damaged stern of a bulk carrier operated by South Korean shipper HMM, after it was struck by two unidentified objects on May 4 while stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, in this handout picture released on May 10, 2026. (South Korean Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
The damaged stern of a bulk carrier operated by South Korean shipper HMM, after it was struck by two unidentified objects on May 4 while stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, in this handout picture released on May 10, 2026. (South Korean Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
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South Korea Condemns Attack on Cargo Ship in Strait of Hormuz, Vows Response

The damaged stern of a bulk carrier operated by South Korean shipper HMM, after it was struck by two unidentified objects on May 4 while stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, in this handout picture released on May 10, 2026. (South Korean Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)
The damaged stern of a bulk carrier operated by South Korean shipper HMM, after it was struck by two unidentified objects on May 4 while stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, in this handout picture released on May 10, 2026. (South Korean Foreign Ministry/Handout via Reuters)

South Korea's presidential Blue House on Monday condemned in the strongest terms an attack against a cargo ship operated by a Korean shipper this month in the Strait of Hormuz and said it plans to respond once the source of the attack is identified.

Experts conducted an initial forensic analysis of the damage to the port stern, a Blue House official said. The attack had led to a ‌fire in ‌the vessel's engine room.

Namu, the vessel ‌operated ⁠by the shipper ⁠HMM Co., was not in violation of any rules in effect at the time in the waters off the United Arab Emirates and it was a case of an attack against a commercial vessel that cannot be justified, the official said.

"We condemn this in ⁠the strongest terms," Wi Sung-lac, the South Korean ‌presidential national security adviser, ‌told a news briefing. Damage to the vessel was identified ‌in the forensic inspection by South Korean officials and ‌experts at a port in Dubai, Wi said.

The damage was not known earlier following the attack due to its position in the lower port stern, according to a Blue House official.

It ‌was not known what role, if any, Iran may have had in ⁠the attack, the ⁠official said. Tehran has previously denied any responsibility for the attack that involved a strong impact on the side of the vessel.

On Monday, the Iranian embassy in South Korea said in a statement it did not have any position on the matter but would announce if there is any update or official position.

US President Donald Trump said soon after the incident that Iran had fired at the South Korean vessel, and urged Seoul to join US-led efforts to secure shipping through the strait.

World

Iran Describes its Proposal to End War with US as Legitimate, Generous

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
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Iran Describes its Proposal to End War with US as Legitimate, Generous

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)

Iran's proposal to end war with the US and reopen the Strait of Hormuz was legitimate and generous, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil ‌Baghaei said ‌on Monday, adding ‌that ⁠the US continues ⁠to uphold unreasonable and one-sided demands.

"Our demand is legitimate: demanding an end to ⁠the war, lifting the (US) ‌blockade ‌and piracy, and ‌releasing Iranian assets that ‌have been unjustly frozen in banks due to US pressure," Baghaei ‌said according to Reuters.

"Safe passage through the Strait of ⁠Hormuz ⁠and establishing security in the region and Lebanon were other demands of Iran, which are considered a generous and responsible offer for regional security."

Iran responded to Washington's latest peace proposal on Sunday, after drones threatened several Gulf region targets and Tehran warned it would not hold back from retaliating against any new US strikes.

According to state broadcaster IRIB, Tehran's response, passed to Pakistani mediators, focuses on ending the war "on all fronts, especially Lebanon" -- where Israel has kept up its fight with Iran-backed Hezbollah -- as well as on "ensuring shipping security".

US President Donald Trump had said he was expecting Iran's reply by Friday, but as the wait dragged on, the ceasefire in the Gulf came under increasing strain, including from Sunday's drone strikes, one of which hit and damaged a freighter sailing towards a port in Qatar.

The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of being behind another attack that targeted its territory in what would be, if confirmed, only the second strike on a Gulf country since the start of the month-old truce.

"We will never bow down to the enemy, and if there is talk of dialogue or negotiation, it does not mean surrender or retreat," Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on X Sunday.

Tehran's military chief Ali Abdollahi, meanwhile, met the country's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei and received "new directives and guidance for the continuation of operations to confront the enemy", according to Iranian state television.

World

Ukraine Reports Russian Attacks and Battlefield Clashes Despite Ceasefire

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike on a private building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 06 May 2026. (EPA)
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike on a private building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 06 May 2026. (EPA)
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Ukraine Reports Russian Attacks and Battlefield Clashes Despite Ceasefire

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike on a private building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 06 May 2026. (EPA)
Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike on a private building in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 06 May 2026. (EPA)

Ukraine's military and regional officials ‌on Monday reported Russian drone strikes and battlefield clashes over the past 24 hours, despite a US-brokered ceasefire.

Ukraine and Russia agreed on Friday to a ceasefire from May 9 to May 11 as part of a US-led push for peace under President Donald Trump to end more than four years of war since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

The ceasefire, which Trump said on Friday he ‌hoped would ‌be extended, was already showing signs ‌of ⁠strain on Sunday, ⁠when each side accused the other of violating it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday Moscow had refrained from large-scale aerial and missile attacks but that it had continued assaults along parts of the long front where Russian forces are advancing.

Russia's ⁠Defense Ministry accused Ukraine on Sunday ‌of flouting the ceasefire, ‌saying it had downed 57 Ukrainian drones over the past ‌day and "responded in kind" on the battlefield. ‌It did not immediately report on the battlefield situation on Monday.

In Ukraine, one person was killed and two people were wounded in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, ‌the regional governor said. Two were killed and two wounded in the southern region ⁠of Kherson, ⁠the Kherson region's governor said.

Three people were wounded in the neighboring Mykolaiv region, five were hurt in the northern region of Kharkiv and four were wounded in the eastern region of Donetsk, according to reports by the regions' governors.

The General Staff of Ukraine's military said 180 battlefield clashes had been recorded along the front line over the past 24 hours and that Russian forces had on Sunday deployed 8,037 "kamikaze" drones in attacks on settlements and military positions.