Ukraine attacks Crimean bridge again with underwater explosives amid negotiations with Russia
In an operation meticulously planned over months, Ukraine has once again struck one of the most significant symbols of the Russian occupation of Crimea. The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) announced that it had detonated underwater explosives strategically placed on the pillars of the railway bridge connecting Russia with the Crimean peninsula, known as the Kerch Bridge.
According to the SBU, the attack took place at 4:44 a.m. and used a total of 1,100 kilograms of explosives, causing significant damage to the underwater pillars of the structure. Although the exact extent of the damage has not been publicly confirmed, Russian authorities suspended vehicle traffic on the bridge twice during the day, suggesting serious damage to the infrastructure.
The bridge, inaugurated in 2018 by President Vladimir Putin after the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, not only has logistical value as a key military supply route, but also symbolic significance: it represents the Kremlin's territorial claim over the Ukrainian peninsula.
This is the third Ukrainian attack on the bridge since the start of the large-scale invasion in February 2022. In October of that year, a tanker truck exploded and set fire to a section of the bridge. In July 2023, another attack, this time with an experimental maritime drone, damaged another part of the structure.
SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk confirmed that he personally supervised Tuesday's underwater operation. ‘The SBU always sees things through to the end and never repeats the same action. We have already struck the Crimean bridge twice, in 2022 and 2023. So today we are continuing this tradition, this time underwater,’ he said in a statement.
‼️Security Service of Ukraine reports a new attack on the Kerch bridge!
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 3, 2025
The operation lasted several months. Security Service agents mined the supports of the bridge and activated the first explosive device today at 4:44 am.
The underwater supports of the bridge were severely… pic.twitter.com/MdXUPbA3hr
Malyuk insisted that the bridge is a legitimate military target, given that Russia uses it as a logistical artery to supply weapons and personnel to its forces deployed in southern Ukraine.
The attack on the bridge comes just two days after a daring SBU drone offensive against Russian military airfields located thousands of kilometres from Ukrainian territory. According to Malyuk, that operation caused an estimated 7 billion dollars in damage and affected 34% of Russia's strategic cruise missile carriers, used to bomb Ukrainian cities.
That same weekend, two railway bridges collapsed in the Russian regions of Bryansk and Kursk. Moscow blamed Ukraine, although Kiev has not commented on the matter. These events, together with the attack on the Crimean bridge, are part of a growing pattern of covert actions and sabotage operations aimed at weakening Russia's offensive capabilities from within its own territory.
Since the start of the large-scale invasion in 2022, Moscow has sought to consolidate its control over the occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine. But these latest attacks show that Ukraine has not lost its ability to strike at the symbols of Kremlin power, as well as its strategic capabilities and logistics network.
Negotiations stalled in Istanbul
All this is happening as representatives from Ukraine and Russia meet in Istanbul to resume peace talks. However, the atmosphere at the negotiating table remains tense.
Kiev has shown itself willing to accept an immediate 30-day ceasefire, according to a proposal by US President Donald Trump. Nevertheless, Ukraine has reaffirmed its refusal to recognise Russia's annexation of any part of its territory and maintains its aspiration to join NATO.
For its part, Russia has presented a memorandum of conditions that includes old maximalist demands, such as the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and the demilitarisation of Ukraine, which Kiev and its allies consider unacceptable.
