On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukraine tried to attack the bridge with an S-200 missile modified to hit ground-based targets, but it was shot down and no damage was reported. Traffic across the Crimean Bridge was temporarily suspended.
Zelensky said in a video address on Telegram on Sunday that Ukrainian troops regularly respond to Russia’s actions as part of the special operation, and said that the "smoke on the Crimean Bridge" is an example of one such "response."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday that Russia strongly condemns Ukraine's attempted attack on the Crimean Bridge, a civilian object, and will not leave it unanswered. The Ukrainian military is trying to compensate for its failures on the battlefield by targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, the spokeswoman said.
The Crimean Bridge has been targeted by Ukraine on a number of occasions. One of the most recent attacks took place on July 17 and involved sea drones that killed a couple who were driving across the bridge when it was bombed. Their teenage daughter was injured.