SBU’s third strike on Crimean Bridge halts traffic amid new attack reports

The operation lasted several months. First, agents mined the supports of the Crimean Bridge, and on June 3, the first explosive device was activated.

The explosion occurred at 4:44 a.m., without any casualties among the civilian population.

The SBU noted that 1,100 kg of explosives in TNT equivalent were used for the attack. The underwater supports of the pillars were severely damaged at the bottom. In fact, the bridge is in an emergency condition, the SBU added.

The head of the SBU, Lieutenant General Vasyl Maliuk, personally supervised the operation and coordinated its planning.

"God loves a Trinity, and the SBU always sees its plans through to the end and never repeats itself," he said.

“We previously struck the Crimean Bridge twice, in 2022 and 2023. So today we continued this tradition underwater.”

Maliuk stressed that no illegal Russian objects have a place on Ukrainian territory, so the Crimean Bridge is a completely legitimate target.

"Especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops," the head of the SBU added.

“Crimea is Ukraine, and any manifestations of occupation will receive a harsh response from us.”

Earlier today, Russian occupation authorities reported that on the morning of June 3, they destroyed an unknown drone over the Crimean Bridge. Monitoring channels reported that after the drone was destroyed, traffic on the bridge was blocked for almost three hours.

Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communication has identified four main narratives of Russian propaganda in connection with the events on the bridge.

1. "There was no explosion."

As if it was either a fake attack or a "PR stunt" because "a ton of TNT is too much."

2. "The defenses worked."

The "deflectors" and "barriers" allegedly took the brunt of the blow. Of course, traffic on the bridge had to be blocked, but overall everything is "normal." The classic "nothing to worry about" with a hint of "we still feel the pain."

3. "There is alert, but everything is under control"

The Russian fleet supposedly needs to be on alert because more drones may come. The old record is played: "Ukrainians are not capable on their own, the West is behind them."

4. "This is not the worst"

They mention the new Ukrainian naval drones Marichka and Toloka, as well as write about new drones that were not previously "announced," hinting that new strikes are ahead.

"Fear is the main currency of this propaganda," the Center concluded.

Unconfirmed footage is being posted on social media, claimed to be today's smoke near the Crimean Bridge.

Traffic across the Crimean Bridge has been blocked, according to a report at 3:23 p.m. on a Russian channel that monitors the operational situation on the illegally constructed crossing.

In addition, maritime passenger transport has been temporarily suspended in Sevastopol Bay, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. Sevastopol Gauleiter Mikhail Razvozhayev said that the Russian fleet is allegedly "conducting anti-submarine and anti-sabotage defense exercises using various types of weapons."

Reports appeared in Russian social media groups about a new threat of an attack on the Crimean Bridge at around 2:50 p.m. on June 3, allegedly carried out by unmanned boats — that is, marine drones. This information has not been confirmed by the Ukrainian side or independent sources.

Russian Telegram channels were also reporting on the alleged "danger of surface and underwater targets" in Crimea.

The Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported that on the morning of June 3, the Crimean Bridge was closed for three hours, between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. At that time, the Telegram channel Mash wrote that a drone had allegedly been shot down over the bridge and its debris had fallen onto the roadway. As of 2:00 p.m. Kyiv time, the official Russian channel reported that the bridge was open to traffic, with "no queues at the inspection point on the Kerch side, and 120 vehicles in the queue on the Taman side."

Social media users began to speculate that the SBU operation may have blown up the supports of the road section of the bridge.

Previous attacks on the Crimean Bridge

On Oct. 8, 2022, Ukraine’s Security Service attacked the Crimean Bridge for the first time — after a truck explosion, two half-sections of the bridge's road section collapsed, and the railway tracks were also damaged.

On July 17, 2023, Ukraine launched a second successful strike on the Crimean Bridge using Sea Baby drones. The road section of the bridge was significantly damaged.

On March 30, 2025, journalists from The New York Times reported in an investigation dedicated to the hidden role of the United States in Ukrainian operations against Russia that the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the Crimean Bridge, illegally built by the Russians in 2024, with ATACMS missiles as part of Operation Lunar Hail.

The NYT article does not specify the date of the attack, but it may refer to the events of Aug.16, 2024. At that time, explosions rocked occupied Crimea and were heard in Sevastopol, Kerch, and Feodosia, among other places. The occupation authorities blocked traffic on the Crimean Bridge.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that 12 ATACMS missiles targeting the Crimean Bridge were shot down. The occupation administration did not report any damage to the bridge.

On March 8, 2025, Commander of the Ukrainian Navy Oleksiy Neyizhpapa stated that Ukraine was preparing to launch another strike on the Crimean Bridge.