Ukraine’s high-stake offensive: targeting Crimean Bridge and Russian airbases

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has claimed responsibility for a third attack on the Crimean Bridge, intensifying pressure on a symbol of Russia’s occupation and prompting a new wave of nuclear threats from Kremlin.

The strike comes just two days after Ukraine reportedly damaged several Russian long-range bombers in drone attacks targeting strategic aviation bases. According to a statement published on 3 June on the SBU’s Telegram channel, the bridge’s underwater pillars were mined and damaged in an operation personally overseen by the agency’s chief Vasyl Maliuk. Ukrainian officials described the attack as a several months operation that delivered the equivalent of 1,100 kilograms of TNT to the underwater foundations of the bridge.

“Today, without harming civilians, the first detonation was triggered at 4:44 a.m.,” the SBU stated. The agency claimed the blast left the bridge in an “emergency condition.”

Built after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, the $4 billion bridge has been a vital logistical artery for Russian forces occupying southern Ukraine. It has also served as a potent political symbol of Moscow’s grip over the peninsula.

While pro-Russian sources downplayed the damage, suggesting the explosion hit protective structures rather than core supports, traffic over the bridge was suspended multiple times on 3 June, and maritime transport in nearby Sevastopol was halted.

This latest strike follows previous Ukrainian attacks in October 2022 and July 2023 that caused significant damage but failed to take the bridge entirely out of commission.

Fallout of the Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian bomber bases

The latest attack on the bridge comes just two days after a large-scale Ukrainian drone assault on Russian strategic aviation bases on 1 June. Several Tu-22 and Tu-95 long-range bombers, used to fire cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities were reportedly damaged in the strikes.

Ukrainian drone attack strikes $7-billion blow to Russian strategic aviation as peace talks loom in Istanbul

These attacks underscore Ukraine’s growing ability to hit critical military infrastructure deep inside Russian territory, despite limited access to long-range Western weapons.

U.S. officials, per NBC News, denied prior warning about the airbase attacks, with a White House source stating Washington was not informed. Axios corroborated this, citing both Ukrainian and American officials who said the U.S. was not notified.

Experts noted the U.S. had not publicly reacted to the airbase attacks, suggesting a deliberate distance to avoid escalation, given the strategic bombers’ nuclear capabilities.

In response to the drone attacks, senior Russian officials have ramped up their rhetoric.

On 3 June, former president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, warned that Moscow would take revenge. “Retribution is inevitable,” he wrote on Telegram, as reported by Reuters.

Medvedev also dismissed the possibility of peace talks unless Ukraine agreed to sweeping Russian demands, including territorial concessions, neutrality, military limitations, and new elections.

“The Istanbul talks are not for striking a compromise peace on someone else’s delusional terms, but for ensuring our swift victory and the complete destruction of the neo-Nazi regime,” he declared.

Echoes of earlier nuclear threats

Medvedev’s language, combined with past Kremlin rhetoric, has reignited concerns over potential escalation.

In September 2022, President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia would use “all means at our disposal” to defend its territory, adding: “This is not a bluff”. Medvedev has since reiterated that such threats remain on the table.

Western analysts widely interpret such warnings as deterrent messaging aimed at both Ukraine and its allies. Nonetheless, NATO officials continue to monitor Russian statements closely, wary of any miscalculation that could lead to broader conflict.

For Ukraine, damaging the Crimean Bridge is as much about undermining Russia’s logistics as it is about challenging Moscow’s claim over Crimea. The $4-billion structure is a symbol of Russian control, but also a vulnerable point.

As Kyiv’s capabilities improve and the war evolves into a contest of endurance and reach, each new strike brings strategic gain but also the risk of escalation, not just militarily, but politically and diplomatically.

With Reuters, NBC, Axios

Photo: Part of the destruction of the Crimean Bridge, photo SBU, Telegram