An explosion recently occurred at the Crimean Bridge, but caused "no damage," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed on June 4, accusing Ukraine of attempted attacks on Russia's infrastructure.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed responsibility for the explosion that rocked the bridge in the early hours of June 3. The agency said that more than a ton of explosives in TNT equivalent damaged the underwater supports of the structure.
"There indeed was an explosion. There was no damage, the bridge continues to function," Peskov said, according to the Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti. "Kyiv continues in its attempts to attack infrastructure facilities."
Constructed after Russia’s illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014, the Crimean Bridge — also known as the Kerch Bridge — is a critical supply and transport route for Russian forces to the occupied Ukrainian territories. It connects the occupied peninsula to Russia's Krasnodar Krai via the Kerch Strait.
The Russian state media reported on June 3 that a "Ukrainian intelligence agent" who had constructed a bomb on "orders from Kyiv" had been detained by Russia's FSB.
In comments later on June 3, Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, said the "key and most complex" part of the bridge had been damaged in the attack.
The operation, which follows the SBU's mass drone strike against Russia's strategic aviation on June 1, was personally supervised by the agency's chief, Vasyl Maliuk.
The bridge suffered significant damage during two previous Ukrainian attacks in October 2022 and July 2023, though neither managed to take the bridge out of commission.
Oleg Sukhov
(Updated: )
