Ukraine’s SBU security service has said it has hit the road and rail bridge linking Russia and Ukraine’s annexed Crimean peninsula below the water level with explosives, in its third attack on the key supply line for Russian forces in the war-torn country.
About 1,100kg (2,420 pounds) of explosives were detonated on Tuesday morning to destroy underwater pillars of the bridge over the Kerch Strait in an operation prepared over several months, the SBU statement said.
“Previously, we hit the Crimean Bridge twice, in 2022 and 2023. So today we continued this tradition underwater,” it said. “The bridge is now effectively in an emergency condition.”
The SBU shared video footage that claimed to show an explosion next to one of the many support pillars of the bridge.
Russian military bloggers said the attack had been unsuccessful and speculated that it had been carried out by a Ukrainian sea drone.
The official Russian outlet providing regular status updates on the bridge said its operation had been suspended for about three hours between 4am and 7am local time (01:00 and 04:00 GMT).
It gave no reason for the temporary closure but said the bridge had been reopened and was functioning as normal.
