A Russian court has handed down life sentences to eight individuals for their involvement in the 2022 bombing of the Crimean Bridge, a critical infrastructure linking Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula. The attack, which occurred on October 8, 2022, resulted in the deaths of five people and caused significant damage to the 19-kilometer Kerch road and rail bridge. The explosion, carried out via a truck bomb, ignited seven oil tankers on a passing train and collapsed two sections of the highway. The defendants were tried in a closed-door military court in Rostov-on-Don and found guilty of orchestrating a terrorist act, illegal weapon possession, and, in two cases, smuggling explosives. Both Kyiv and Moscow have attributed the attack to Ukraine’s secret services, with Kyiv later claiming responsibility, citing the disruption of Russian military logistics as the objective. The bridge, inaugurated by President Vladimir Putin in 2018, holds immense symbolic value for both nations, representing Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. Despite assurances of its safety, the bridge has been repeatedly targeted since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.