Today's attack was with an underwater sea drone, said to be carrying 1,100 kg of TNT. Since it exploded at the base of the support structure, it's difficult to say yet what long-term structural damage has been done. Russian bloggers claimed reports of cracks, but that has not been confirmed. The bridge was opened several hours after the explosion, then closed again for a few hours, then re-opened.
Source: New York Times
Ukraine said on Tuesday that it had struck the Crimean bridge for the third time since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, after spending months planting explosives on support structure beneath the water.
The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, but the Security Service of Ukraine, the intelligence agency known as the S.B.U, released a statement and a video that it said showed one of the detonations.
“Today, at 4:44 a.m., without any civilian casualties, the first explosive device was detonated,” the agency said in a statement. “The underwater support pillars were severely damaged at the seabed level — aided by the equivalent of 1,100 kg of TNT.”
Surveillance footage released by the agency and verified by The New York Times shows an explosion under the Kerch Strait Bridge, which connects Russia’s mainland and the Crimean peninsula. The attack appeared to target support features of the bridge.
It was not immediately clear how much damage the bridge sustained. A photo from the agency shows some damage to its railing.
Traffic on the bridge was suspended for about three hours on Tuesday morning, and then later in the day, about an hour after the S.B.U. published its report, it was closed again for about two hours, according to the Telegram channel that tracks the bridge’s operation. The reasons for the closures were not disclosed. The bridge reopened by late afternoon.
Some tweets.
Holy shit
Ukraine's SBU security service behind the audacious drone attack deep inside Russia now says it has attacked the Kerch bridge in occupied Crimea in a months-long operation. It says SBU agents "mined the supports" of the bridge with 1,100kg of TNT under the water line… pic.twitter.com/TvNjHWZZs3— Saint Javelin (@saintjavelin) June 3, 2025
‼️Security Service of Ukraine reports a new attack on the Kerch bridge!
The operation lasted several months. Security Service agents mined the supports of the bridge and activated the first explosive device today at 4:44 am.
The underwater supports of the bridge were severely… pic.twitter.com/MdXUPbA3hr— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 3, 2025
Russian rumors on Telegram.
Meanwhile, Russian pro-war channels are despondent. They write that "a crack has gone through the entire support" of the Kerch Bridge pic.twitter.com/ovotecrMQR
— Malinda 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇵🇱🇨🇦🇮🇹🇦🇺🇬🇧🇬🇪🇩🇪🇸🇪 (@TreasChest) June 3, 2025
And the inevitable memes.
🎬 New film by the SBU: “Underwater Trucks vs. The Crimean Bridge”
Starring: Maliuk the Trucker🚛 and 1100 kg of explosive justice 💣
Coming 🔜 - everywhere except Kerch. pic.twitter.com/fyVZiafpro— Maria Drutska 🇺🇦 (@maria_drutska) June 3, 2025
