Latest news with #CrimeaBridge
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- General
- SBS Australia
Ukraine says it hit Crimea bridge with underwater bomb, damaging Russian supply route
Ukraine's security service has claimed responsibility for an underwater bombing targeting the Crimea bridge, a critical supply route connecting Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula. In a statement, Ukraine's SBU security service said it had used 1,100 kilograms of explosives that were detonated early in the morning and damaged underwater pillars of the bridge, a key supply route for Russian forces in Ukraine in the past. The SBU shared video footage that appeared to show an explosion next to one of the many support pillars of the bridge. The 19 km Crimea Bridge over the Kerch Strait is the only direct link between the transport network of Russia and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. It was used by Russian forces during their invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, when they crossed it to reach Crimea and from there went on to seize parts of Ukraine's southern Kherson and southeastern Zaporizhzhia regions. "Previously, we hit the Crimean Bridge twice, in 2022 and 2023. So today we continued this tradition underwater," the SBU said in a statement, adding that the operation had been prepared over several months. The official Russian outlet which provides regular status updates on the bridge said its operation had been suspended for about three hours between 4am and 7am local time. It gave no reason for the temporary closure but said the bridge had been reopened and was functioning as normal.
Washington Post
3 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
As Russia reels from drone attack, Ukraine targets vital Crimea Bridge
Ukraine on Tuesday again attacked the symbolic Crimea Bridge across the Kerch strait, which connects the illegally annexed peninsula to the Russian mainland. The attack came 48 hours after Kyiv's unprecedented assault on air bases deep inside Russian territory which sent shock waves across the country. Ukraine's Security Service claimed in a statement that several pillars were damaged in an early morning operation, after spending months of covertly planting explosives on support structures beneath the water.
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Ukraine says it hit Crimea bridge with underwater explosives
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) says it has managed to strike the Crimea bridge with underwater explosives following an operation lasting "several months".The SBU said its agents had "mined the supports" of the bridge with 1,100kg of explosives which "severely damaged" the bottom level of the "first explosive device" was activated early Tuesday morning "without any civilian casualties", the SBU added. The information shared by the SBU could not be immediately verified. Russian media initially said the bridge was briefly closed to traffic but that it had reopened by 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT).However, on Tuesday afternoon, local authorities warned the bridge was closed again. Unconfirmed reports on social media said more explosions had occurred around the has not yet commented on Tuesday morning's attack but Russian military bloggers speculated that an underwater drone, rather than explosive, had hit a protective SBU said its director, Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, personally supervised the operation and coordinated its a Telegram post, it quoted Malyuk as saying Ukraine had hit the Crimea bridge in 2022 and 2023 and was therefore "continuing this tradition under water." "No illegal Russian facilities have a place on the territory of our state," Malyuk said. "Therefore, the Crimean Bridge is an absolutely legitimate target, especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops."The bridge - also known as Kerch Bridge - was built by Russia after it invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. It was inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin to great fanfare in 2018. In Ukraine, the bridge is a hated symbol of Russian occupation. Moscow guards it carefully - which makes any attack on it, whether with underwater drones or explosives, a remarkable achievement. Tuesday's strike on the bridge comes barely 48 hours after Ukraine hit several targets across Russia as part of an operation dubbed 'Spider Web'.Kyiv said it smuggled more than 100 drones into Russia and managed to get them delivered near air bases by unsuspecting lorry drones then flew out of the lorries and attacked Russia's prized strategic bombers in locations across the country.
