Underwater Assault: Ukraines SBU Launches Third Strike on Crimean Bridge

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) announced on Tuesday that it employed underwater explosives to target the Crimean Bridge, which connects mainland Russia with the annexed peninsula of Crimea.

According to an official statement shared on its Telegram channel, «The SBU has executed another audacious and unparalleled special operation, attacking the Crimean Bridge for the third time since the onset of Russia’s large-scale invasion—this time from underwater.»

The explosion reportedly occurred just before 5 a.m. local time, damaging the bridge’s support pillars. The SBU asserted that there were no civilian casualties as a result of the blast.

Russian officials have refrained from commenting on the incident, but authorities in occupied Crimea temporarily restricted traffic on the bridge shortly after the SBU’s announcement.

Earlier that same day, pro-Kremlin Telegram channels reported that a Ukrainian drone crashed into the Crimean Bridge around 6 a.m. local time. Authorities stated that traffic on the bridge had been temporarily halted between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. but did not provide further details.

⚡ Ukraine’s SBU confirmed it has inflicted damage on Russia’s Crimean Bridge using an underwater explosive, marking the third assault on this critical link since the beginning of the invasion by Moscow. pic.twitter.com/Z7SZBkiJDb

The SBU indicated that planning the bombing operation took several months, with operatives placing the equivalent of 1,100 kilograms of TNT on the bridge’s support structures.

The SBU shared footage of the explosion and claimed that the bridge is now in «critical condition.» The Moscow Times could not verify this assertion independently.

«We have previously struck the Crimean Bridge twice, in 2022 and again in 2023. Today, we upheld that tradition—this time from beneath the water’s surface,» stated SBU Chief Lieutenant General Vasyl Maliuk on Telegram.

«There is no place for illegal Russian infrastructure on Ukrainian land. The Crimean Bridge is a completely legitimate target, especially considering it has served as a crucial supply route for Russian forces,” Maliuk added.

Pro-war military bloggers with connections to Russia’s Defense Ministry challenged the Ukrainian narrative regarding the bomb placement at the base of the Crimean Bridge, proposing that an underwater drone might have been responsible for the attack instead.