Kiev, Jul 27 (IANS): For the first time, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has acknowledged its involvement in the October 22 attack on the Kerch Bridge that connects the occupied Crimean Peninsula to the Russian mainland.

“SBU officers have been destroying the enemy in the hottest spots and doing everything to liberate our land as soon as possible. The destruction of the Crimean bridge is one of our achievements," CNN quoted the Security Service's chief Vasyl Malyuk as saying at a ceremony here on Wednesday.

The SBU head's remark comes after Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar became the first Ukrainian official earlier this month to hinted at the country's forces blowing up the bridge.

In a social media post, she had listed 12 Ukrainian achievements since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, and said that "273 days ago, (we) launched the first strike on the Crimean bridge to disrupt Russian logistics".

The Ukrainian government, however has not officially claimed the attack.

The Kerch bridge is a vital artery for supplying Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine, allowing people and goods to flow into the Ukrainian territories that Moscow has occupied in the south and east of the country.

Ukrainian officials celebrated the October 2022 blast at the time but did not make a clear claim of responsibility.

It took place a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin turned 70, and Ukraine’s Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Oleksiy Danilov published a video of the bridge in flames alongside a video of Marilyn Monroe singing, “Happy Birthday, Mister President”.

The Ukrainian Navy had also posted on Facebook, saying, “Air defence of the Russian Federation, are you sleeping?” alongside a video showing a section of the bridge’s road that had been completely destroyed.

On July 17, the bridge was again hit by two strikes, which a Ukrainian security official told CNN that Kiev was responsible for.