Ukraine’s Security Service Hints at More To Share On Crimea Bridge Explosions After Victory
The Security Service of Ukraine has hinted at involvement in overnight explosions that struck the Crimea Bridge, halting road traffic across the bridge that links Russia with the peninsula it annexed in 2014.
Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) spokesperson Artem Dekhtiarenko told RBC Ukraine that the service would reveal all the details of the explosion after Ukraine defeats Russia. Dekhtiarenko said that the SBU was watching with interest how a symbol of Vladimir Putin’s rule had again failed to withstand a “military load”, and reiterated comments by SBU head Vasyl Malyuk that the bridge’s use for Russian military logistics made it a legitimate target.
The news agency had reported earlier on Monday that the explosions were the result of a joint operation between the SBU and the Ukrainian Navy to attack the bridge with unmanned naval drones. According to RBC Ukraine’s source, “Getting to the bridge was complex, but in the end they managed to do it”.
Russian social media posts and pro-war bloggers claimed in the early hours of Monday that two explosions had struck the bridge at 3:04AM and 3:20AM local time. Russian authorities have since stated that the explosions resulted in the death of a Russian couple from Belgorod driving across the bridge at the time, with their daughter seriously injured.
Following the explosion, ferry services between Crimea and Russia were halted alongside road and rail traffic. Russian media has since reported that rail traffic on the bridge has resumed alongside ferry services for cars, but cargo vehicles are now required to take a road route through Russian-occupied parts of southern Ukraine to reach Russia.
The Crimea Bridge had previously been damaged in a truck bomb explosion on October 8, 2022, with the explosion collapsing two road sections and damaging part of the rail bridge after fuel tankers next to the explosion caught fire. Moscow claimed to have completed repairs to the damaged road sections in February this year, with repairs to the rail bridge completed in May.