Kerch Strait Bridge briefly closed to traffic after Ukraine says it damaged supports in underwater blast

Screenshot: Security Service of Ukraine (@SBUkr / Telegram)

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on Monday claimed responsibility for a special operation targeting the Kerch Strait Bridge — a 12-mile thoroughfare connecting the Russian mainland to the Russian-occupied peninsula. According to the SBU, an underwater explosive device detonated near one of the bridge’s supports at 4:44 a.m. local time on June 3. The agency said the operation had been months in the making.

The explosion, the agency stated, was equivalent to 1,100 kilograms (2,425 pounds) of TNT and caused “serious damage [to the supports] at the seabed level.” No civilians were injured in the operation, the SBU said.

The operation was personally coordinated by SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk, who described the bridge as “a completely legitimate target,” as Russian forces had been using it as a logistical supply route. The agency’s statement also hinted that more than one support may have been mined.

“No illegal Russian facilities have a place on the territory of our state. Therefore, the Crimean Bridge is an absolutely legitimate target, especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops,” Malyuk said.

The SBU claimed the bridge is now in “a state of emergency” and accompanied its post by a video of the blast and a photo of the aftermath. The video appears to show an explosion near a support pillar, though no visible structural collapse is seen. The photo shows a damaged guardrail, but the roadway itself appears intact.

Local social media groups reported that the bridge was closed to traffic early Monday morning. It reopened three hours later. There were also reports of a Ukrainian drone being shot down over the bridge, with debris falling onto the roadway.

The Crimean Bridge was attacked by the Ukrainian special services on two previous occasions.

The first occurred on Oct. 8, 2022, when a truck carrying what Malyuk said was 21 metric tons of explosives detonated. That blast ignited seven fuel tankers on a train and caused several sections of the road bridge to collapse, killing five people.

The second strike came on July 17, 2023, when naval drones targeted the bridge, destroying one span and damaging another. A couple driving on the bridge was killed. In both cases, bridge traffic was temporarily halted, though Russian officials later reported that repairs had been completed.

The Kerch Strait Bridge, also known as the Crimean Bridge, was completed in 2018 after four years of construction carried out by Stroygazmontazh (SGM), a company owned by Russian billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, a close associate of Vladimir Putin. The project was funded by the Russian federal budget, with costs estimated at over $3.7 billion.

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