Ukraine's security chiefs said on Tuesday they had hit the Kerch road and rail bridge linking Russia and Crimea below the water level with explosives.
The SBU security service said in a statement that it had used 1,100kg of explosives detonated early in the morning, damaging underwater pillars of the 12-mile bridge in the secret operation which took months of planning.
The bridge, a key supply route for Russian forces to annexed Crimea, was reportedly closed for more than two hours.
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!
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) June 3, 2025
The operation lasted several months. @ServiceSsu agents planted explosives on the supports of this illegal structure. And… pic.twitter.com/lgu6ANR3K1
Ukraine defence chiefs posted on X: “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 today, at 4:44 a.m., without any civilian casualties, the first explosive device was detonated!
They claimed: “The underwater pillars of the bridge supports were severely damaged at the seabed level — thanks to 1,100 kg of explosives in TNT equivalent. As a result, the bridge is now in critical condition. “
In the latest Russian drone attacks overnight at least three people were killed and dozens injured in cities in the north of Ukraine.
‼️Security Service of Ukraine reports a new attack on the Kerch bridge!
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 3, 2025
The operation lasted several months. Security Service agents mined the supports of the bridge and activated the first explosive device today at 4:44 am.
The underwater supports of the bridge were severely… pic.twitter.com/MdXUPbA3hr
Drone strikes saw fires break out across the northern city of Chernihiv, including at residential houses, and a business was hit in the small town of Balakliia near the border with Russia, Ukrainian officials said.
Officials in Sumy also said two people were killed and around 20 were injured.
It follows a major Ukrainian attack against Russia after hundreds of drones were smuggled over the border.
The attack, known as Operation Spiderweb, targeted Russian airfields and saw at least 40 bombers destroyed.
Ukrainian drones were disguised as modular homes and loaded onto trucks which were then unwittingly driven within striking distance of the military installations.
The roofs of the vehicles were then opened remotely and the weapons activated to carry out the attack - one of the boldest and most significant against Russia since the war began in 2022.
Images shared online show the devastation left by the attack, including the impact on airfields and the charred remains of trucks reportedly used to carry the drones.
The move is a significant blow to the ability of Putin’s forces to conduct long-range aerial attacks against Ukraine.
The aircraft hit reportedly includes the A-50 radar surveillance plane, as well as Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 strategic bombers, key to Russia’s air assault operations.
Ukrainian officials claim the Russian military has suffered damage worth more than $2 billion (£1.4 billion) as a result of the strikes.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky called the operation "an absolutely brilliant result" and one "achieved solely by Ukraine".
The latest Russian attacks on Ukraine came just hours after delegations from the two countries met in Turkey for peace talks where Moscow said it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army.
Ukraine has repeatedly rejected the Russian conditions as tantamount to surrender.
Vitali Karabanov, the head of Balakliia’s military administration, said on Telegram that the town had been hit by a "A massive UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle).”
In Chernihiv, four people were hospitalised and another 20, including eight children, were given medical assistance at the site, Ukrainian officials said.
Odesa, in Ukraine’s south, was also hit by a Russian air attack overnight but although residential buildings were damaged, no injuries were reported.
