Massive explosion: Ukraine's SBU reports strike on Crimean bridge

In a statement on Telegram, the SBU saidits agents had planted explosives on the bridge's underwater supports in an operation that lasted several months, detonating the first device at 4:44 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning. The operation was overseen by its chief, Vasyl Malyuk, according to the SBU.

The SBU said the supports were severely damaged by explosives with the equivalent effect of 1,100 kilograms of trinitrotoluene (TNT)."The bridge is actually in a poor condition," the SBU said, noting that this was the third attack on the strategically important transport artery connecting Russia with the Crimean peninsula.

Later, Russian authorities said on social media that road traffic on the bridge was temporarily suspended. However, it was restored after a few hours. According to RIA Novosti, authorities also suspended the passage of civilian ships near the Crimean port of Sevastopol.

The bridge, built by Russia after its occupation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, is seen by Ukraine as a symbol of its neighbor's military expansionism."No illegal Russian facilities have any business on our territory," the Russian-language service quoted an SBU statement as saying. Ukraine considers the Crimean bridge a legitimate target for attacks because Russia uses it to supply its troops participating in the invasion of the neighboring country.

It has been damaged by two separate explosions since the start of the war in February 2022. One was caused by explosives placed in a truck, the other by a naval drone.

"God loves the Trident and the SBU always sees its plans through to the end and never repeats itself. Previously, we hit the Kerch Bridge in 2022 and 2023. Today, we continued this tradition underwater," the SBU said.