The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Tuesday that it attacked Russia’s Crimean Bridge, which connects Crimea and the Russian mainland.
The incident marks at least the third time that Ukraine has targeted the bridge since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022. Russian authorities said that the bridge was briefly closed on Tuesday but reopened in the evening, resuming normal operations.
The SBU published a video of an explosion underneath the bridge and claimed that its agents mined the piers with 1,100 kilograms of explosives. It said the operation took months to plan.
According to SouthFront, the explosives were detonated by a drone. Another drone exploded without hitting the bridge, and a third was destroyed by a Russian loitering munition before it reached the bridge.
The attack on the Crimean Bridge comes as Ukraine has been stepping up its attacks on Russian territory. Tuesday’s incident occurred two days after the SBU launched a major drone operation from inside Russia that targeted Russian airfields.
Over the weekend, two bridges collapsed inside Russian border regions, including one that derailed a passenger train, killing seven people. On Tuesday, Moscow formally blamed Ukraine for the incidents, saying they were being treated as Ukrainian “terrorist attacks.”
The Ukrainian attacks inside Russia risk a major Russian escalation. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that Russian retaliation was “inevitable.”
“Our army is on an active offensive and will continue its push forward. Everything that needs to be blown up will be, and those who need to be eliminated will be,” said Medvedev, who serves as the deputy of the Russian Security Council.
The attacks inside Russia also risk escalation between Moscow and NATO since the CIA is deeply involved with the SBU and helped build up Ukraine’s intelligence services following the 2014 US-backed coup that ousted former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
