Ukraine hits bridge linking Crimea to Russia with underwater explosives
Ukraine has detonated a massive underwater blast targeting the key road and rail bridge connecting the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula to Russia, damaging its underwater pillars.
The operation, claimed by Kyiv's SBU security service, is the second high-profile operation by Ukraine in days striking significant Russian assets after a sophisticated drone raid on Moscow's strategic bomber fleet on Sunday.
The attack came as Ukraine confirmed it had been invited to the Nato summit later this month, after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned it would be a 'victory' for Russia if it was not present.
The latest strike on the 12-mile-long Kerch Bridge – a prestige project of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, which he opened in 2018 – comes amid what appear to be determined efforts by Ukraine to change the narrative promoted by the Trump administration that Kyiv holds few cards in the war.
The mining of the bridge, which is heavily defended by Russian forces, follows the audacious long-range drone attack on airbases deep in side Russia, which Zelenskyy claimed had damaged '34% of [Russia's] strategic cruise missile carriers'.
According to a statement from the SBU the operation against the bridge – the third in a series of strikes amid at disabling the key logistics route – had been planned for several months and involved the equivalent of more than a metric tonne of TNT, which it said had 'severely damaged' the base of the bridge supports.
It is the third time that Ukraine has targeted the bridge since Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022.
In October 2022, a truck exploded on the bridge, while in July 2023, the SBU said it had blown up a part of the bridge using an experimental naval drone. Both times, Russia repaired the damaged sections.
Lt Gen Vasyl Maliuk of the SBU, who supervised the latest operation, described the bridge as 'an absolutely legitimate target, especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops'.
He added: 'Crimea is Ukraine, and any manifestations of occupation will receive our tough response.'
The SBU published footage showing a blast coming out of the water and debris flying, along with a photo of some damage to the side of the bridge.
Road traffic on the bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula had been temporarily suspended, Russian authorities said on Telegram on Tuesday. Russian state media reported it had been closed to traffic for about four hours.
The attack on the bridge came as Russia said on Tuesday said it was wrong to expect a quick breakthrough in Ukraine talks, a day after Moscow rejected Kyiv's call for an unconditional ceasefire at negotiations in Istanbul – more than three years into Russia's offensive that has killed tens of thousands on both sides and forced millions from their homes in eastern Ukraine.
The sides agreed on a large-scale swap of captured soldiers and exchanged their roadmaps to peace, or so-called 'memorandums', at the discussions, which lasted under two hours.
'The settlement issue is extremely complex and involves a large number of nuances,' the Kremlin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters on Tuesday. 'It would be wrong to expect immediate solutions and breakthroughs.'
Peskov was speaking as Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy's chief of staff, arrived in the US along with the deputy prime minister Yulia Svrydenko to press for tougher sanctions on Russia.
'We plan to talk about defence support and the situation on the battlefield, strengthening sanctions against Russia,' Yermak said on Telegram.
Moscow is demanding Ukraine pull its troops out of four eastern and southern regions that Moscow claims to have annexed, as a precondition to pausing its offensive, according to the document handed to the Ukrainians that was published by Russian state media.
Kyiv had pressed for a full and unconditional ceasefire. Russia instead offered a partial truce of two to three days in some areas of the frontline, its top negotiator said after the talks.
Peskov also dismissed the idea of a summit between the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and the US.
'In the near future, it is unlikely,' he told reporters, adding that such a summit could happen only after Russian and Ukrainian negotiators reached an 'agreement'.
The White House had said on Monday that the US president, Donald Trump, was 'open' to the idea, which is also backed by Zelenskyy and by Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Zelenskyy's attendance at the Nato summit in The Hague from 24 to 26 June was welcomed by the Ukrainian president after reported misgivings over the potential for the renewal of friction between Zelenskyy and Trump administration officials.
'We were invited to the Nato summit. I think this is important,' Zelenskyy said on Monday after he held a meeting with Nato's secretary general, Mark Rutte, in Vilnius.
Agencies contributed to this report
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
38 minutes ago
- Metro
Putin tells Russians 'the whole of Ukraine is ours' in 'disdainful' speech
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Vladimir Putin promised 'catastrophic' consequences for Ukraine and claimed that the Russian and Ukrainian people were 'one nation' in a conference this week. The Russian president answered questions on a variety of issues at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, and said Ukraine could lose more territory if it keeps rejecting Russia's conditions for peace. 'I have said many times that I consider the Russian and Ukrainian people to be one nation. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours,' he claimed. 'We have a saying, or a parable. Where the foot of a Russian soldier steps, that is ours.' He also said if Ukraine used a dirty bomb against Russia, which Kyiv has repeatedly said they will not do, the consequences would be 'catastrophic'. 'This would be a colossal mistake on the part of those whom we call neo-Nazis on the territory of today's Ukraine.' The outlandish remarks come as Putin has refused to give up any land taken from Ukraine after their 2022 invasion, which sparked all-out war. Russia has gained control over a part of Ukraine roughly the size of the state of Virginia, and is refusing to give it back, stalling peace talks. Moscow's claims to four Ukrainian regions and Crimea are illegal, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly rejected the notion that Russians and Ukrainians are one people. Putin also boasted about Russia's economic outlook at the event in St Petersburg, claiming Russia managed to curb inflation and ease its reliance on energy exports. His remarks were a far cry from other statements by some members of his government, who warned at the same conference that Russia could face a recession. Economic Minister Maxim Reshetnikov had said that the country is 'on the brink of going into a recession'. Putin mentioned the recession warnings but pointed out that manufacturing industries have posted steady growth, allowing the country to reduce its reliance on oil and gas exports. More Trending He's used the annual forum to highlight Russia's economic prowess and encourage foreign investment, but Western executives have shunned it after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, leaving it to business leaders from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Putin said the growth of military industries helped develop new technologies that have become available to the civilian sector. He vowed to continue military modernisation, relying on lessons learned during the fighting in Ukraine. 'We will raise the capability of the Russian armed forces, modernise military infrastructure and equip the troops with cutting-edge equipment,' he claimed. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: One of Putin's cannibal soldiers 'killed his own comrade to eat him for two weeks' MORE: Russian tech billionaire Pavel Durov claims to have over 100 children MORE: Russia 'upgrades' its nuclear sites closest to the UK
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Putin says 'all of Ukraine is ours' and threatens nuclear strike
Vladimir Putin has doubled down on his insistence that Russia will not give up any occupied territory as part of peace negotiations with Ukraine. In an exclusive interview with Sky News Arabia, the Russian president said negotiations need to recognise "the will of the people who live in certain territories". Mr Putin was referring to referendums held by Russian officials in 2022 in four annexed regions of Ukraine, and in Crimea. Those referendums, which were described as "shams" by the UK's foreign secretary at the time, saw all four regions vote to join Russia. "The will of the people is what [we] call democracy," said Mr Putin. He said that he hopes Ukraine's leadership will be "guided by national interests" in negotiations, rather than by the "interests of its sponsors". Those sponsors, he said, "are not interested in ending the conflict, but in using Ukraine for their own selfish political purposes". On Friday, the Russian president told business leaders in St Petersburg: "I have said many times that I consider the Russian and Ukrainian people to be one nation. 2:00 "In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours." He also threatened a nuclear strike on Ukraine for the first time in months, promising "catastrophic" consequences if Kyiv used a dirty bomb against Russian forces. "This would be a colossal mistake on the part of those whom we call neo-Nazis on the territory of today's Ukraine," he said. "It could be their last mistake. We always respond and respond in kind. Therefore, our response will be very tough. "Ukraine deserves a better fate than being an instrument in the geopolitical struggle of those who strive for confrontation with the Russian Federation." On Saturday morning, Russia claimed to have captured a small village named Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, posted on Telegram saying that more than 200 Russian UAVs targeted the region on Friday. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was now in talks with Denmark, Norway, Germany, Canada, the UK and Lithuania to start joint weapons production. He urged Kyiv's partners to provide 0.25% of their GDP to finance the production of Ukraine's weapons.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Ukraine says Russia handed over at least 20 of its own dead soldiers in recent exchanges
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed that Russia has repatriated at least 20 of its own dead soldiers in recent exchanges with Ukraine, describing the unusual occurrence as a sign of Moscow's disorganisation in handling large swaps of wounded prisoners of war and military remains. Speaking to journalists on Friday Mr Zelenskyy disclosed that an Israeli citizen was among the deceased received by Ukraine. Officials have not yet disclosed the identities of the bodies. He condemned Russia's apparent disregard for its own troops, stating: "They threw the corpses of their citizens at us. This is their attitude toward war, toward their soldiers. And this is already documented. Sometimes these bodies even have Russian passports." Mr Zelenskyy added that despite the clear evidence, the Russian side had insisted that all the dead were Ukrainians. Journalists were shown a Russian passport and ID belonging to one of the 20 dead Russians. According to the document, the man came from the Moscow region. The exchanges of the dead and wounded soldiers are the only tangible result of direct peace talks in Istanbul. In June, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers in a 6,000-for-6,000 format during the second round of negotiations. Ukraine was concerned that the number was too high and that the sides did not have enough time for forensic examinations and checking the identities of the dead. Zelenskyy said he suspected Russia's plan was to play along with peace talks to appease the U.S. and stave off more sanctions but without ending the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin believes he is winning. He said that because of this, Ukraine would be 'in a really difficult situation' of deciding whether to continue the talks in Istanbul. Impact of Iran -Israel war on Ukraine Zelenskyy said Ukraine was against Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, because of its military partnership with Russia, but stopped short of expressing explicit support for Israel's strikes. He repeated that the new war in the Middle East will affect Ukraine indirectly. 'Iran gave the Russians everything to kill us. They gave them martyrs, they gave them missiles, and they gave them licenses. The fact that their production capacities have now become weaker is (a) positive for us. But at certain points it may already be too late,' he said, also citing Russia's military cooperation with North Korea. Russia has modified Iran-made Shahed drones and has used them, often hundreds at a time, in barrages targeting Ukraine. Zelenskyy said 39 Russian companies were involved in the production of Oreshnik, an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. He said 21 of them are not under sanctions. 'And therefore it is absolutely incomprehensible why sanctions should not be imposed urgently,' he said. Russia attacked Ukraine with the missile in November, marking a serious escalation in the war and Russia's capabilities. Zelenskyy dispelled reports that Patriots air defense systems were destroyed in recent Russian drone and missile barrages. He also said Ukraine has started using domestically produced interceptors to shoot down Shahed drones and is seeking financing from Germany to ramp up the weapon's production. He added he sent signals to Western partners asking them to give up 0.25% of their GDP to support Ukraine's local defense industry. Zelenskyy said it's likely he would attend a NATO summit later this week, but that he would make a final decision on Monday. Though Zelenskyy did not meet Trump who had left early the Group of Seven summit in Canada last week, Ukraine's Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and the head of the president's office, Andriy Yermak, gave U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent a list of weapons Ukraine is hoping to purchase. 'We will wait feedback,' Zelenskyy said, adding the package of weapons included Patriot systems. The weapons package would be among the topics Zelenskyy plans to discuss with Trump in their next meeting, he added, as well as the issue of sanctions. 'Frankly, it seems to me that we need to talk about a new breath in the diplomatic track,' he said. 'We need greater certainty and greater pressure from the world on Putin.'
