June 3, 2025, 2:31 p.m.
(Photo: SBU)
The SBU Head, Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, personally supervised the operation and coordinated its planning.
According to the SBU, Ukrainian security service agents mined the pillars of this illegal facility. And on June 3, without any civilian casualties, the first explosive device was activated at 4:44 am.
"The underwater supports of the pylons were severely damaged at the bottom level - 1100 kg of explosives in TNT equivalent contributed to this. In fact, the bridge is in a state of emergency," the agency noted.
According to Vasyl Malyuk, the SBU always follows through and never repeats its actions.
"We have previously hit the Crimean bridge twice in 2022 and 2023. So today we continued this tradition underwater. There is no place for any illegal objects of the Russian Federation on the territory of our state," he added.
Malyuk also noted that the Crimean bridge is an absolutely legitimate target, especially given that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops. "Crimea is Ukraine, and any manifestations of occupation will be met with our tough response.
Last year, at the end of December, part of the defenses near the Kerch Bridge were put out of commission due to storms that would continue in the area for another 2-3 months. Russia began building a layered defense system for the bridge in the Kerch Strait in May 2024 with the installation of barges in two rows and booms. In the summer, the occupiers began installing parallel anti-drone bridges on both sides, as well as installing tetrapods and metal "hedgehogs" in the sea. In the fall, towers with "Pantsiryas" began to appear. However, this did not prevent Ukrainian Navy units from successfully attacking Russian surveillance systems located on seized gas platforms in the Black Sea. These gas towers have been under Russian control since 2014.
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