Ukraine admits blowing up Crimea bridge in October

The Ukrainian side is responsible for the blowing up of the Crimea bridge, connecting mainland Russia and the annexed peninsula, on 8 October 2022, says Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister.

Maliar posted on her social media, reviewing the successful operations of the Ukrainian military during the 500 days of the war against Russia. Her statement is the first time a Ukrainian official admits that it was Kyiv that set up the explosion.

“273 days ago we delivered our first strike against the Crimea bridge in order to disrupt Russia’s logistics,” Maliar wrote.

In her post, she mentioned other key events of the current war: the liberation of north Ukraine and Snake Island, the sinking of the Moskva cruiser, the receival of first HIMARS and Patriot weapons, the Kharkiv direction counteroffensive, the liberation of Kherson, the ICC arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, and the first downed Kinzhal hypersonic missile.

Prior to this, the Ukrainian side would only hint its connection to the Crimea bridge explosion. In late May, Vasyl Maliuk, the chairman of Ukraine’s Security Service, mentioned that Ukraine had been conducting “certain operations” on the Crimea bridge, and Russia later “declared it a terror attack”.

An explosion occurred on the Crimea bridge in the early hours of 8 October, causing the road surface to collapse in several sections and setting a train transporting flammables on fire. Four people were killed by the explosion.

The following day, Vladimir Putin referred to the explosion as “a terror attack against Russia’s critical infrastructure” and said it was Ukraine that had plotted it. Alexander Bastrykin, the chairman of Russia’s Investigative Committee, said “citizens of Russia and other countries were involved in plotting the attack”.