A major US newspaper has reported that "Russian and Chinese business executives with government ties have held secret discussions on plans to build an underwater tunnel connecting Russia to Crimea." Russia unilaterally annexed the southern Ukrainian region in 2014.

An article in The Washington Post broke the news on Friday, citing communications intercepted by Ukraine's security services.

Russia and Crimea are currently linked by a bridge, which was built by Moscow in 2018. It has served as a key logistics line for Russian forces involved in the invasion of Ukraine. But Ukrainian attacks damaged it in October last year and July this year.

The article says the executives held the discussions due to "mounting Russian concerns over the security of" the bridge and "in hopes of establishing a transportation route that would be protected from attacks by Ukraine."

The story quotes experts on major international transportation projects as saying constructing the tunnel is "technically feasible" but "is projected to cost more than 8.7 billion dollars."

It says, "The project would also pose political and financial risks for China...whose companies could become ensnared in economic sanctions that the United States and the European Union have imposed on Moscow."

Russia's state-run news agency says Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the report.

The head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Maliuk, said in a televised documentary on Friday that the bridge is still not fully functioning as a logistics route, forcing Russia to deliver weapons to its forces mainly by ferry.

He also indicated more attacks in store for the bridge by saying, "Plenty of surprises lie ahead and not just the bridge."