Russian divers will on Sunday examine the damage caused by a powerful blast on Russia's road-and-rail bridge to Crimea that hit a prestigious symbol of Moscow's annexation of the peninsula and a key supply route to forces battling in southern Ukraine.

Saturday's explosion on the bridge over the Kerch Strait, for which Russia did not immediately assign blame, prompted gleeful messages from Ukrainian officials but no claim of responsibility.

Russian news agencies quoted Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin as saying the divers would start work at 6 a.m., with a more detailed survey above the waterline expected to be complete by day's end.