Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said it carried out an underwater attack on Tuesday, June 3, that severely damaged the structural supports of the Crimean Bridge, also known as the Kerch Strait Bridge. According to the SBU, agents planted explosives beneath the bridge over several months, eventually detonating 1,100 kilograms (2,425 pounds) of TNT-equivalent material.
Ukrainian officials described the bridge as now being in a “state of emergency,” though no civilian injuries were reported.
The SBU released a video of the explosion and confirmed that the operation was the third successful strike against the bridge since 2022. The bridge, a critical logistics route for Russian forces in occupied Crimea, was previously targeted by Ukraine in October 2022 and July 2023. In both of those attacks, the explosions caused significant damage, but the bridge remained usable.
How did Russia respond to the attack?
Russia has not issued a formal statement on the latest bridge strike. However, the FSB said Tuesday, June 3, that it arrested a 60-year-old Feodosia man accused of assembling a bomb under orders from Ukraine’s Security Service. He allegedly built the device using video instructions and hid it in a Sevastopol cemetery.
Authorities charged him with treason and illegal possession of explosives.
While the FSB did not link the arrest directly to the bridge explosion, Russian media framed it as part of broader Ukrainian sabotage efforts in Crimea.
Russian Telegram channels reported two bridge closures Tuesday — one after the blast and another after Russian air defense downed three drones. Debris briefly halted traffic between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Oleg Kruchkov, an adviser to the Russian-appointed head of Crimea, said on Telegram that “along with enemy activity off the coast of Crimea in the Black Sea, there is also an information attack. A lot of lies are being spread in the information field.” He urged the public to rely on official sources.
Is the bridge still operational?
Russia’s Ministry of Transport later stated that traffic on the bridge had resumed in “standard operational mode,” adding the temporary closures caused no “serious difficulties for drivers.” The ministry said inspections were proceeding as expected for the start of the tourist season.
As Ukraine expanded its cross-border attacks, Russian forces continued their aerial assault on Ukrainian cities. Ukraine’s air force reported that 112 drones were launched into the country overnight, with 75 of them intercepted. Fatal strikes were reported in Sumy, Kharkiv and Kherson, where a combination of cluster munitions and shelling killed at least eight people and injured more than 50.
In Sumy, five rockets hit populated areas during rush hour, killing at least four people and wounding 28 others, according to local officials. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as a deliberate targeting of civilians.
