Ukraine says it attacked key Crimean bridge as traffic halted

Kateryna Chursina, Bloomberg News on Jun 3, 2025

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Ukraine said it attacked the Crimean Bridge with explosives as Russia closed traffic on the route linking the annexed Black Sea peninsula with the Russian mainland.

Agents planted mines on underwater supports and detonated them on Tuesday, the Ukrainian Security Service, known as the SBU, said in a statement on Telegram. The SBU said the operation took place over several months and left the bridge in an emergency condition, which couldn’t be independently verified.

Russia closed traffic on the bridge twice on Tuesday, without explaining the reason for the moves, Interfax reported. The bridge was originally shut for more than three hours starting in the morning local time, and then again for almost two-and-a-half hours, the news agency said. Maritime passenger transportation was suspended in Sevastopol, the city’s road and transport infrastructure authority said, also without explaining what prompted the interruption, according to Interfax.

The attack comes amid an increase in Kyiv’s strikes on Russian military and infrastructure targets, including one of Ukraine’s most audacious aerial attacks inside the country. It also comes one day after talks held in Istanbul failed to bring the Kremlin’s more-than-three-year-long invasion of Ukraine any closer to an end. The bridge, which stretches 19 kilometers (12 miles) across the Kerch Strait, was a signature project for President Vladimir Putin after he illegally annexed the peninsula in 2014.

SBU chief Vasyl Maliuk accused Russia of using the route as a logistical artery to supply its troops. Ukraine badly damaged the bridge in a 2022 operation and attacked it with drones in 2023.

The Crimean Bridge was the only working overland transportation route between Crimea and Russia until a railway connection was established this year through southeastern Ukrainian areas occupied by the Kremlin.

On Sunday, Ukrainian drones struck deep inside Russian territory, destroying long-range bombers and other aircraft and demonstrating Kyiv’s ability to hit key assets thousands of miles from the front lines.

Russian officials on Tuesday also said more than 700,000 households lost power in two partially occupied Ukrainian regions following damage to energy infrastructure. Authorities blamed Ukrainian drone attacks and shelling for the outages, although these claims couldn’t be independently verified.

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(With assistance from Henry Meyer.)