Russia reports that traffic on the Crimean Bridge is running again after being stopped for two hours. Earlier on Tuesday, the Ukrainian security services claimed to have detonated explosives at several pillars of the bridge.
Ukraine has placed several explosives at the pillars of the Crimean Bridge in recent months, according to the Ukrainian security service SBU. This happened underwater. It would involve 1,100 kilos of explosives. The first explosives were detonated on Tuesday morning.
Road and rail traffic on the Crimean Bridge has been suspended, Russian authorities reported on Tuesday afternoon. Earlier in the day, the bridge was also closed for several hours. No one is known to have been injured. It is not yet known how extensive the damage is. Images shared by the SBU show water spraying into the air and debris flying around.
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Ukraine shares images of large explosion Crimean Bridge
The 19-kilometer bridge is the only connection between the Russian mainland and Crimea, the peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014. It is also an important supply route for Russian troops in the war in Ukraine. In an attack by Ukraine on the bridge in 2023, major damage was caused and two people were killed.
On Sunday, under the name ‘Operation Spiderweb’, Ukraine already carried out a large drone attack on four Russian military air force bases. Drones were smuggled into Russia to bypass Russian anti-aircraft guns. A source within the Ukrainian security service SBU says that 41 aircraft were hit.
Also on Sunday, two Russian bridges collapsed in the Bryansk and Kursk regions. In Bryansk, a train heading to Moscow derailed as a result. Seven people were killed. Ukrainian sabotage actions were possibly the cause in both cases. Russian investigators point to explosions.