UAV event in Crimea, Kerch area, Ukraine on Mon 17th July 2023

Ukraine’s strategy of taking the fight to the Russian rear may have been on display from July 15 to 17 in occupied Crimea, after reports of a strike on the Kerch Bridge early this morning and an attack that possibly used Ukraine’s fleet of naval drones on the port of Sevastopol the previous day put the peninsula on a state of emergency.

At around 3 a.m. July 17, two successive explosions were recorded on the Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea with the Krasnodar region of Russia. Local residents reported that lights went out on some sections of the bridge followed by rising smoke.

Russian occupation officials in Crimea reported an “extraordinary event” had taken place on the bridge. 

“Traffic has been stopped on the Crimean bridge: an extraordinary event has occurred in the area of the 145th support from the Krasnodar region. Law enforcement agencies and all relevant services are working,” Sergey Aksyonov, the Russia-installed governor of occupied Crimea, reported.

Aksyonov also asked travelers to not use the bridge and suggested alternative routes through occupied southern Ukraine. Later on Monday morning, Russia officials said the attack killed a civilian couple and wounded their child.

"Two civilians died: a man and a woman, driving a car on the bridge," the Russian Investigative Committee said. "Their minor daughter was wounded."  A Ukrainian source told AFP that the Ukrainian navy and SBU security service carried out the attack on the bridge.

"Today's attack on the Crimean bridge is a special operation of the SBU and the navy," the security service source said.

The strike was carried out using waterborne drones, according to the same source.

The 19-kilometer bridge – a pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin to connect mainland Russia with occupied Crimea – was at least temporarily closed earlier this morning, according to local residents and eyewitnesses, and major queues of vehicles were building up in Kerch. The Russian news agency TASS and others reported that the movement of railway transport over the bridge was suspended.

Ferry services were also suspended and maritime navigation under the bridge was temporarily ceased.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, Governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, and other sources said on Telegram that a man and a woman died, and a 14-year-old girl was reportedly injured as a result of the explosions.

Russian Telegram channels speculated about the causes of the “extraordinary event,” including the possible use of naval drones.

“The drone strike was massive, so the result could have been much worse if not for the timely response of all responsible units,” one channel said.

Official Ukrainian spokespeople denied involvement in the event. Natalia Humeniuk, the spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern military forces, put the blame back on Russia and labelled it a “possible provocation.”

Humeniuk indicated that it was a “typical method” used by Russia to gain some advantage, given the Black Sea Grain Initiative is due to expire today.

Russian media outlet Baza reported that at least one section of the bridge had collapsed and posted inconclusive photos apparently from the scene. The Russian Ministry for Transport denied such a collapse.  She further speculated that detouring travelers through occupied southern Ukraine may be aimed at “saturating these regions with civilians” prior to the advance of Ukrainian forces and to then “accuse [Ukraine] of wrongdoing in the framework of the war.”

Earlier in the weekend, across the night of July 15 to July 16, Ukraine carried out a large-scale operation on the Russian naval base at Sevastopol, which involved the deployment of both aerial and maritime drones.