Kerch Strait

In Context

• Recently, the Kerch Bridge which connects the Russian mainland with the Crimean peninsula, caught fire due to an explosion sparked by a truck bomb.

About

• The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. 
• It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia’s Krasnodar Krai in the east. 
• The most important harbor, the Crimean city of Kerch, gives its name to the strait, formerly known as the Cimmerian Bosporus.
• It has also been called the Straits of Yenikale after the Yeni-Kale fortress in Kerch.

Significance for Russia

• Since it is the only direct link between Russia and Crimea, it plays a major role in supplying fuel, food and other key goods to Crimea, which hosts the port of Sevastopol – the historic home base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
• It became a major supply route for Russian Forces after the military campaign against Ukraine was launched on February 24, 2022.

Source:LM