 "This video grab taken from a handout footage released by the Ukrainian Security Service shows the explosion of the Kerch Bridge connecting Crimea with Russia (AFP)")
Ukraine struck the Kerch Bridge connecting Crimea to Russia with over 1,000 kilograms of underwater explosives, the country’s SBU intelligence agency said Tuesday, Kyiv’s “third” confirmed attack on the structure since the start of the war.
“This time underwater,” the SBU said, calling the operation a “unique special mission” that had been in preparation for months. A video released by the agency shows a blast erupting from beneath the waterline, sending debris flying and damaging a section of the bridge.
The extent of the structural damage remains unclear. While Russia briefly closed the bridge, AFP reported it was functioning normally by Tuesday afternoon.
The attack comes just two days after Ukraine carried out “Operation Spider’s Web,” targeting Russian military infrastructure and airbases. The 19-kilometer (12-mile) bridge, a strategic supply route for Russia’s war effort, was previously hit in 2022 and 2023.
Opened in 2018, the Kerch Bridge is central to Russia’s efforts to consolidate its 2014 annexation of Crimea, the move that sparked the broader Russia-Ukraine conflict. Moscow has demanded international recognition of Crimea as Russian territory as a condition for any peace talks.
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View AllThe bridge, a symbolic project for President Vladimir Putin, has served as a critical logistics route for Russian forces since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Troops initially crossed the bridge into Crimea before advancing into the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of southern Ukraine. Built with both rail and road spans, it features iconic steel arches and concrete stilts spanning the strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
This latest incident comes just two days after Kyiv launched “Operation Spider’s Web,” targeting Russian airbases and long-range bombers deep inside Russian territory with drone strikes. The two operations reflect Ukraine’s expanding use of asymmetric tactics against Russian military infrastructure.