Ukraine’s underwater strike on the Kerch Bridge targeted both a strategic supply route and a powerful symbol of Russian control over Crimea, dealing another blow to Putin’s image and logistics.
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) announced via Telegram that it had carried out an underwater strike on the Russian-built Kerch Bridge that connects the Russian-occupied Taman Peninsula in Crimea with Krasnodar Krai in mainland Russia. Explosives were reportedly placed on the underwater supports and detonated before dawn.
Video of one of the explosions has been shared on social media.
Traffic on the bridge was closed for several hours but resumed by 9 am local time.
Tuesday morning’s attack came just two days after Ukraine conducted drone strikes on multiple Russian air bases, and on the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet’s headquarters at Severomorsk, in the Murmansk Oblast. At the same time, bombs were detonated that also disrupted multiple railway lines.
Why Was the Kerch Bridge Important to Russia?
The strike on the Kerch Bridge was significant for several reasons, including its strategic and symbolic importance.
First, there are two parallel bridges, one for a double-track railway and the other for a four-lane road. Bridge construction began in February 2016 and was completed in May 2018. It is considered a significant source of pride for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who inaugurated the bridge by driving the first truck across it.
“After 2014, when the Russians took over Crimea illegally, they built this very long bridge, which is Putin’s pride and joy. And he drove over it in a big truck in 2018 to show how important it was,” military analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News.
Also known as the Crimean Bridge or the Kerch Strait Bridge, it is strategically important as it is a vital lifeline to the Russian military’s occupation of Crimea.
Yet, it is also a symbol for Moscow that Crimea is part of its territory.
Notably, such a bridge had been planned for more than a century, with the first plan dating back to the reign of Tsar Nicholas II. Those plans were completed in 1910 but put on hold due to the outbreak of the First World War.
Ironically, during the Second World War, after Nazi Germany conquered Crimea in early 1943, the Organization Todt quickly constructed a ropeway bridge over the strait to aid the movement of men and materiel. Less than a year later, as the German military retreated from the region, that ropeway, along with a partially constructed railway bridge, was destroyed. The Soviet Red Army also built a temporary railway bridge, but an ice flow near the war’s end destroyed it.
Although the Soviet Union planned to construct a combined road and rail bridge, the project never materialized. However, in 2010, when Moscow and Kyiv were on much better terms, discussions about a bridge were initiated and almost moved forward.
“President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine and President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia signed an agreement to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait, and Russia and Ukraine signed a memorandum of mutual understanding on the construction of the bridge,” the International Journal of Maritime Crime and Security (IJMCS) explained in its September 2022 edition, while it added, “A joint Ukrainian–Russian company would handle the construction of the bridge.”
Of course, things took a different direction.
“The Russian annexation of Crimea and the collapse of relations between the two countries abruptly ended the bilateral Kerch Bridge agreement. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would build a road-rail bridge over the strait on 19 March 2014, just one day after Russia officially claimed Crimea,” the IJMCS noted.
Ukraine Attacks the Kerch Bridge Again!
This was the third time that the SBU succeeded in causing damage to the bridge that connects Russia with the Crimean Peninsula, further highlighting its geopolitical and strategic importance.
The first attack was carried out in October 2022 when a truck bomb caused portions of the roadway to collapse. It limited traffic on the bridge for nearly nine months. In July 2023, an unmanned surface vessel (USV) was used to damage a section of the road bridge, disrupting rail service for several months. Another attack was carried out with S-200 missiles a month later, but Russian air defenses intercepted the missiles.
Destroying the Krech Bridge would be as much a source of pride as the bridge is to Russia and Putin, and that suggests more attacks are likely as long as the war continues.
“The bridge is a legitimate military target because it’s illegal,” said Clarke.
“Dropping that bridge would have a strategic impact, but a big, big symbolic impact. And it would annoy the bejesus out of Putin.”
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image Credit: Shutterstock/Oleksandr Polonskyi.
