Extract from ABC News
Ukraine's SBU says it hit Crimea bridge underwater with explosives. (Reuters: SBU)
In short:
Ukraine has hit the Kerch bridge, linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula, below the water level with explosives.
It comes after Kyiv launched a major drone attack in an operation codenamed "Spider's Web" to attack Russian nuclear-capable long-range bomber planes at distant airfields on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Russian strikes have killed three and injured 25 in Sumy.
What's next?
Russia told Ukraine at peace talks in Istanbul it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army.
Ukraine hit a major road and rail bridge connecting Russia and Crimea with below-the-water explosives.
The SBU, Kyiv's security service, released footage of the blast at Kerch Bridge on their social media channels, on Tuesday, local time.
It said it had used 1,100 kilograms of explosives which were detonated early that morning, damaging underwater pillars of the bridge, a key supply route for Russian forces in Ukraine.
Russian authorities said on Telegram that the bridge's operation had been suspended for about three hours between 4 am and 7 am local time.
It gave no reason for the temporary closure, but said the bridge had been reopened and was functioning as normal.
"Previously, we hit the Crimean Bridge twice, in 2022 and 2023. So today we continued this tradition underwater," the SBU said in its statement, adding that the operation had been prepared over several months.
It comes after Ukraine launched a large-scale drone attack in an operation codenamed "Spider's Web" to attack nuclear-capable long-range bomber planes at distant airfields across Russia on Sunday.
The 19km Crimea Bridge over the Kerch Strait is the only direct link between the transport network of Russia and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Three killed, 25 injured in Sumy
Firefighters extinguish cars hit by a Russian military strike in Sumy. (Reuters: Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Sumy region/Handout )
Meanwhile, a Russian artillery attack on Ukraine's north-eastern city of Sumy on Tuesday has killed three people and injured 25, including children, the city council and the health ministry said.
A Reuters video showed rescuers and police assessing damage on a street littered with debris in the city of more than 255,000 located just 30 km from the Russian border.
One body, covered with a sheet, lay prone near cars peppered with splinters.
The country's health ministry said 25 people sought medical attention.
Children were wounded in an attack on Sumy. (Reuters: Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Sumy region/Handout )
"Eight of the wounded are in serious condition, and three of them are children," the ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least one rocket fired from a multiple rocket launcher had failed to detonate and lodged itself in an apartment building.
Commenting on the attack, Mr Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel: "That's all one needs to know about the Russian wish to end this war."
Ukraine rejects Russia's demands
On Monday, Russia told Ukraine at peace talks in Istanbul it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gave chunks of territory and accepted limits on the size of its army.
Ukraine has repeatedly rejected the Russian conditions as tantamount to surrender.
"It is obvious that without decisive steps by the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who has power, Putin will not agree to a ceasefire," Mr Zelenskyy said.
Russia and Ukraine were unable to reach a ceasefire agreement during peace talks. (Reuters: Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Sumy region/Handout )
Earlier on Tuesday, the administration of Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk also said four civilians were killed in separate artillery attacks on four locations overnight.
Russia denies deliberately attacking civilians in what the Kremlin calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Reuters
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