PDB Afternoon Bulletin | June 3rd, 2025: Ukraine Strikes Putin’s Prize Bridge & Boulder Terrorist Unmasked
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Offer valid May 15th through June 4th. US only, C-Store or online for details. It's Tuesday, the 3rd of June. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start things off with a fresh strike on one of Russia's most valuable targets. Ukraine's security service says it hit the Kerch Bridge with more than a ton of explosives, damaging its underwater supports.

Later in the show, we're learning more details about the man behind the Boulder, Colorado terrorist attack on participants in a peaceful march for Israeli hostages. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. Ukraine has launched another strike into Russian-controlled territory, this time hitting the prized Kerch Bridge. Ukraine's SBU security service announced today that it had successfully targeted the bridge which links Russia to the occupied Crimean Peninsula.

According to the SBU, the operation used more than a ton of explosives and damaged several underwater support pillars of the bridge. Ukrainian officials say the attack was the result of months of careful planning and that it "severely damaged" the base of the bridge's structural supports. Footage released by the SBU appears to show an explosion erupting next to one of the bridge's massive underwater columns.

Now, Russian authorities, they're denying the extent of the damage. They claim the attack failed and insist traffic was only disrupted for a few hours. Russian state media said the bridge was closed to traffic for roughly four hours before being reopened, though it's not yet clear whether structural inspections are ongoing or if restrictions have been placed on heavy vehicles. The Kerch Bridge has long been one of Ukraine's most high-value targets.

Built by Russia after its 2014 occupation of Crimea, the bridge serves as a critical logistics route, enabling the Kremlin to transport troops and weapons and supplies from mainland Russia directly into Crimea and then on to southern Ukraine. Militarily, disrupting this route undermines Russia's ability to reinforce and supply its forces.

Politically, well, it's even more symbolic. Vladimir Putin himself inaugurated the bridge back in 2018, framing it as a permanent link between Russia and what Moscow claims is its territory, Crimea.

This isn't the first time Ukraine has taken aim at the bridge. In October of 2022, a truck bomb caused massive damage, collapsing sections of the road span and igniting a fuel train on the adjacent rail line. Then, in July of 2023, Ukrainian maritime drones reportedly struck the bridge's structural supports again, forcing Russia to reroute military logistics.

This latest attack comes just days after Ukraine's drone blitz on multiple Russian air bases, which inflicted significant damage on Russia's strategic bomber fleet. Together, these operations suggest a growing campaign by the SBU to target critical infrastructure behind enemy lines.

And that campaign may be widening. As we reported yesterday, explosions destroyed two rail bridges and derailed two trains in western Russia over the weekend, killing seven and injuring dozens. Russia's investigative committee has linked the incidents, stating bluntly that both bridges were, quote, blown up.

With Kiev warning that some 50,000 Russian troops are being massed along the border, many believe a new summer offensive by the Russian military could be imminent. This current wave of sabotage by Ukraine, targeting Russia's bombers, logistic corridors, and now the Kerch Bridge itself, well, appears designed to blunt that potential assault. By cutting off resupply routes and weakening the Kremlin's ability to move troops or provide it with air cover,

Ukraine may be trying to preemptively disrupt Russia's next move before it begins. Coming up next, what we know about the suspect who hurled Molotov cocktails at a pro-Israel rally in Boulder. I'll be right back.

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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. We're learning new details about the man accused of terrorism in Colorado, who allegedly spent a year planning to attack the pro-Israeli demonstration with Molotov cocktails.

As we discussed here yesterday on the Afternoon Bulletin, the suspect, an Egyptian man, 45-year-old Mohamed Sabri Solomon, reportedly shouted, quote, free Palestine as he launched homemade incendiary devices at demonstrators from the grassroots group Run for Their Lives in Boulder's Pearl Street pedestrian mall on Sunday. The peaceful rally had been organized to call for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. According to federal filings,

We now know that Solomon told investigators he'd been planning the attack for a year and deliberately waited until his daughter's graduation before carrying it out. He confessed to trying to purchase a firearm but was blocked from doing so because he wasn't a US citizen. When asked whether he regretted his actions, he said he did not and in fact would "do it again if given the opportunity."

Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado, J. Bishop Gruhl, revealed Monday that Solomon went even further during questioning, stating that he wanted to, quote, "...kill all Zionist people."

Solomon entered the country on a B2 tourist visa in August of 2022, which expired in February of the following year. According to the Department of Homeland Security, he filed for asylum that September. At the time of the attack, Solomon was working as a contractor for Uber. The company said he passed state background checks and had received, quote, no concerning feedback before Sunday's attack. Uber says that it is cooperating fully with investigators.

Despite the level of planning involved, law enforcement confirmed Solomon had no criminal record and was not on their radar prior to the attack. The number of injured victims has now risen to 12, up from the initial reports of 8. Several suffered serious burns and at least two remain hospitalized. Authorities described one of the weapons Solomon used as a "makeshift flamethrower."

Solomon now faces a federal hate crime charge tied to "actual or perceived race, religion, or national origin" in addition to 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder. If convicted, he could face life in federal prison plus a maximum of 384 years in state custody. His bond has been set as cash only at $10 million.

Attorney General Pam Bondi condemned the attack, issuing a statement, "We will never tolerate this kind of hatred. We refuse to accept a world in which Jewish Americans are targeted for who they are and what they believe." President Trump also weighed in on Truth Social, offering condolences to the victims while blaming lax immigration enforcement for Solomon's presence in the country.

He posted, "My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy and the great people of Boulder, Colorado. He came in through Biden's ridiculous open border policy. He must go out under Trump policy." Trump added that acts of terrorism will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and said the attack was "yet another example of why we must keep our borders secure and deport illegal anti-American radicals from our homeland."

For now, federal authorities are combing through Solomon's digital communications, searching for possible links to extremist networks or foreign influence campaigns.

And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Tuesday, the 3rd of June. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And of course, to listen to the show ad-free, well, it's simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. And don't forget to check out our YouTube channel. You can find that at President's Daily Brief. It's chock full of informative stuff.

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