Ukraine said on Tuesday that it had hit the bridge connecting Russia and the occupied Crimean Peninsula with explosives planted underwater, in its third attack on the vital supply line for Moscow’s forces since the full-scale war began in 2022.

Explosions in the morning and afternoon rocked the symbolic bridge, but after several hours of closure, authorities said the span connecting Crimea to Russia, had reopened.

Since last sitting down with Ukraine to talk peace, Russia has launched four of its five largest drone attacks against the country, killed more than 340 of its civilians and continued to peddle its false narrative about the unprovoked war it has been waging for more than a decade.

Representatives from Russia and Ukraine gather for peace talks in Istanbul. The meeting comes after the two countries each launched large-scale drone attacks on one another over the weekend, including an audacious Ukrainian strike on Russia's bomber aircraft fleet.