A bridge linking Russia and Crimea has been blown up in a massive explosion carried out by Ukraine’s special forces.
The 12-mile-long Crimean Bridge, or Kerch Bridge, links Russia with the occupied peninsula which Russian troops annexed in 2014.
Footage showed an underwater explosion destroying a pillar of the bridge as Ukraine’s SBU vowed there was “no place for any illegal Russian facilities on the territory of our state”.
The SBU said it rigged the bridge’s pillars with 1,100kg of explosives. “The Crimean Bridge is an absolutely legitimate target, especially considering that the enemy used it as a logistical artery to supply its troops,” it said.
It comes after Moscow told Ukraine that it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army, according to a memorandum.
Ukraine has rejected the Russian conditions as tantamount to surrender, and called for further Western sanctions on the Kremlin after a missile attack killed three and injured dozens in Sumy on Tuesday.
