<p >On the afternoon of July 3 the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched an attack on the Kerch Strait Bridge connecting the disputed Crimean Peninsula to the Russian mainland using multiple unmanned boats.The operation successfully managed to cause an underwater explosion, although reportedly failing to hit any of the bridge supports, with the drone boats subsequently being neutralised by Russian forces using Lancet loitering munitions. The bridge’s operations were not disrupted. Despite the failure of the attack, it was notable that Ukrainian intelligence was able to make full use of cameras across the bridge, indicating that they have likely been compromised by Ukrainian cyber warfare specialists. The Kerch Strait Bridge has long been made a target for Ukrainian attacks, with a successful bombing on October 8, 2022, taking it out of commission for several hours and causing three deaths, which was quickly commemorated in Kiev with a celebratory postage stamp.&nbsp;Russia <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/shift-how-russia-fights-strikes-across-ukraine" >responded</a> to the attack by launching major missile strikes against multiple key Ukrainian infrastructure targets.&nbsp;</p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/03/article_683f2ea5168a13_94910124.jpeg" title="Surface-to-Air Missile Battery From S-500 Air Defence System">The Kerch Strait Bridge was completed in May 2018, four years after Russia recognised Crimea as part of its territory, with the project requiring&nbsp;$4 billion of investment to complete. It has been targeted not only for its symbolic value linking Crimea to mainland Russia, but also for its military importance allowing Russian forces to redeploy to and from the heavily militarised peninsula. Following the successfully attack in October 2022, a Ukrainian drone boat attack on the bridge in July 2023 caused more limited damage that was quickly repaired. The subsequent <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/atacms-sensitive-targets-kms-risk" target="_blank" >delivery of ATACMS</a> ballistic missiles by the United States to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2024 raised concerns that these could be used to target the bridge, which was considered a likely factor in the decision to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/s500-first-deployment-crimean-bridge" >deploy</a>&nbsp;part of the Russian Armed Forces’ <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-first-regiment-s500-long-range-air-defence" target="_blank" >sole regiment</a> of S-500 long range air defence systems in an optimal defensive position. Although the S-500 and complementary shorter ranged systems provide a highly effective multi-layered defence against missile and air attacks, attacks from the sea using assets such as drone boats have been attempted on multiple occasions, and require different kinds of assets such as the Lancet to provide an optimal defence.&nbsp;</p>
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