IRIA News

4 minute read

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed on June 3, 2025, that it conducted a new attack on the Crimea Bridge across the Kerch Strait, which connects the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula to Russia. Ukraine used underwater explosives to carry out the attack which “severely damaged” the base of the bridge supports.

The attack came 48 hours after Kyiv’s unprecedented assault on air bases deep inside Russian territory, striking significant Russian bomber jets and surveillance planes assets in a sophisticated drone attack  codenamed “Spider’s Web”.

The extent of the damage was not immediately clear. However, Ukraine’s security service SBU claimed that several pillars were damaged in an early-morning operation. They added that the operation against the Kerch bridge was conducted after spending several months covertly planting explosives.

SBU released a statement along with photos and a video showing 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. As a result, the bridge is effectively in an emergency condition,” the SBU statement added.

The Security Service of Ukraine has carried out a new, unique special operation and struck the Crimean Bridge for the third time — this time underwater!
The operation lasted several months. @ServiceSsu agents planted explosives on the supports of this illegal structure. And… pic.twitter.com/lgu6ANR3K1

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) June 3, 2025

Local Telegram channels in Crimea reported that the bridge was closed to traffic for several hours on Tuesday. While there has been no official confirmation of the attack from Moscow, the official Russian outlet which provides regular status updates on the bridge said its operation remained suspended for about three hours between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m. local time.

Lt Gen Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the SBU, who supervised the latest operation, said wrote in a statement that the bridge was a legitimate target since Russia continued to use the bridge “as a logistical artery to supply its troops.” He added: “Crimea is Ukraine, and any manifestations of occupation will receive our tough response.”

The 19-km (12-mile) Crimea Bridge is the only direct link connecting Russia and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Russian forces used the bridge during their February 2022 invasion, crossing into Crimea before advancing into Ukraine’s southern Kherson and southeastern Zaporizhzhia regions.”

Rocket attacks in Ukraine and explosions in Russia

Also on Tuesday, Russian rocket strike hit the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, killing at least four people and wounding 25, according to local officials. The attack set vehicles ablaze and targeted the city center, home to over 200,000 civilians, including many displaced by earlier border fighting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the Sumy strike, calling it further proof that Moscow has no intention of ending the war.

Ukrainian officials reported that Russian drone strikes over the past 24 hours killed at least 10 civilians and injured more than 50. Meanwhile, Russia’s Investigative Committee accused Ukraine of carrying out “acts of terrorism” after explosions damaged two railway bridges over the weekend, causing train derailments that killed seven people and injured 113.

Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul

Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine met for a brief second round of direct talks in Istanbul on June 2, agreeing to swap dead and captured soldiers, but there was “no significant breakthrough” toward ending the war or even reaching the ceasefire.

Ukraine is calling for a 30-day ceasefire to enable negotiations, the release of all prisoners, and the return of children taken to Russia. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy also proposed future direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia presented a “peace memorandum” demanding Ukraine withdraw from all four regions Moscow claims, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk including areas not under Russian control. It also called for an end to foreign arms supplies to Ukraine and a halt to mobilization. Both demands were rejected by Kyiv.

Further demands include limits on Ukraine’s military, a NATO ban, international recognition of Russian-claimed territories, sanctions relief, and dropping demands for war reparations.

Ukraine negotiators after the talks said they had requested a meeting of Zelenskyy, Putin and Trump to move forward the process, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the idea and said any such high-level meeting was “is unlikely in the near future.”