The Voice News : Ukraine launched another strike on the strategically vital Kerch Bridge early Tuesday, targeting the structure that links Crimea to mainland Russia. This follows a major Ukrainian drone operation over the weekend that hit deep inside Russian territory.
According to Ukraine’s Security Service, the attack was a covert underwater operation months in the making. Explosives equivalent to 1,100 kg of TNT were reportedly planted and detonated beneath the bridge at 4:44 a.m., damaging key support pillars. No civilian casualties were reported, but authorities temporarily closed the bridge. A second blast occurred in the afternoon, again halting traffic, though Moscow has not confirmed the attacks.
This marks the third Ukrainian strike on the bridge since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The bridge, a critical military supply route and symbol of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, has become a repeated target. In 2023, a drone attack damaged it and killed two civilians.
“The Crimean Bridge is a legitimate military target,” said Lt. Gen. Vasyl Maliuk, head of Ukraine’s Security Service. “Crimea is Ukraine.”
The strike comes shortly after Ukraine’s dramatic drone assault on Russian airfields Sunday, reportedly destroying at least 12 strategic bombers, including nuclear-capable aircraft. The complex operation reached deep into Russian territory, from Siberia to the Far East, and was directed by Maliuk and approved by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Kremlin has remained largely silent. President Vladimir Putin has not commented, though spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he is being briefed. A former Kremlin official acknowledged the attacks were a major intelligence failure for Russia, though he noted Putin likely views the situation as a war of attrition, expecting Ukraine’s manpower to dwindle.
Russian pro-war bloggers reacted with outrage, comparing the drone strikes to “Russia’s Pearl Harbor.” Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy head of the Security Council, promised retaliation, writing, “Everything that is supposed to explode, will certainly explode.”
Meanwhile, Russia has intensified its own strikes, killing four and injuring 24 in Sumy on Tuesday morning.
Despite recent escalations, Russia and Ukraine met Monday in Istanbul for a second round of direct talks. While the two sides agreed on a prisoner exchange, no progress was made toward a ceasefire. Ukraine proposed a summit involving Zelensky, Putin, and President Donald Trump, but Moscow dismissed the idea. Russia’s peace demands include Ukrainian territorial concessions, military reductions, and neutrality from Western alliances—terms Kyiv strongly opposes.
Medvedev described the Istanbul talks as a pathway to “swift Russian victory” and the destruction of what he called the “neo-Nazi regime” in Kyiv.