Ukraine’s army struck a bridge that serves as a key supply line between the Crimean peninsula and the southern province of Kherson, Moscow-installed officials in both Russian-occupied regions have said.
Coming weeks into Kyiv’s counteroffensive to recapture territory in the south and east, the strike on Chongar bridge threatens to disrupt operations for Russian forces that are battling Ukrainian troops in areas north of the Azov Sea.
Crimea, heavily militarised since it was annexed by Russia in 2014, has been used as a staging ground since President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine 16 months ago. Moscow’s forces occupy a swath of territory north of the Azov Sea that connects Russia with Crimea.
The surfaces of the bridge’s twin crossings were damaged, said Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor for southern Kherson. His Telegram post included a video that showed him walking alongside a gaping hole in one bridge and pointing to damage on the other crossing.
“According to a preliminary assessment, British Storm Shadow cruise missiles were used,” Saldo said, referring to the long-range cruise missiles that the UK recently delivered to Ukrainian forces.
Four missiles were fired at the bridge, state newswire Ria Novosti cited a source in Russia’s investigative committee as saying. The missiles had markings indicating the missiles were manufactured in France, the source added. Storm Shadow is the British name for the cruise missile that was jointly developed with France, where it is known as the SCALP-EG, and manufactured in both countries. Paris has not sent any SCALP-EGs to Kyiv.
“We cannot confirm or deny” the Chongar bridge strikes, Andriy Yusov, an officer in Ukraine’s military intelligence, told the Financial Times. “The leadership of the occupiers bears responsibility for what is happening on the occupied territories.” Ukrainian officials do not admit responsibility for strikes on Russian territory as well as on Crimea.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday warned Russia was “considering a scenario of a terrorist attack” on the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, citing a report from Kyiv’s security service. In his strongest comments yet about the threat of a Russian attack on Europe’s biggest nuclear power facility since it launched its invasion, Zelenskyy called on global partners including “in the Arab world and Africa” to put pressure on Putin over Ukraine.
Chongar is one of several bridges that link Crimea to the Ukrainian mainland. The other two main roadways are on the peninsula’s western side, where several bridges crossing canals are located. Russia also uses two railway lines connecting Crimea to Kherson, one crossing wetlands on a bridge near Chongar.
Damaging Russia’s ability to move troops and military equipment via the bridge boosts Kyiv’s chances of liberating Kherson as well as southern parts of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions along the Azov Sea, analysts said. Severing the peninsula’s direct link to Russian territory through the occupied territory north of the Azov Sea is regarded as crucial for Kyiv’s chances of regaining the peninsula.
“Without a doubt this strike is in [Ukraine’s] favour within the context of damaging the enemy’s logistics,” said Serhii Kuzan, chair of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre think-tank in Kyiv. “It’s very good that there is a capability to so precisely strike such targets,” he added, without directly confirming the use of Storm Shadow missiles.
“This does not mean that the bridges are destroyed — but their capacity is diminished,” he added.
Equipped with western weapon systems, Ukrainian forces have made modest gains against heavily fortified Russian positions in southern and eastern regions, where Russian forces occupy about 18 per cent of state territory.
Russia has claimed, without evidence, to have held back the Ukrainian counteroffensive but admitted Kyiv still retained the resources to make further advances.
In a security council session on Thursday, Putin told military leaders that “the enemy’s offensive potential is not exhausted” despite losses of western kit such as German-made Leopard tanks. “I ask you to keep this in mind when forming battle plans — they should be based on reality,” he said.
The defence ministry led by Sergei Shoigu has faced public criticism for its failures to make significant advances in Ukraine or stop strikes on Russian territory.
Kuzan drew parallels with Ukrainian strikes using western multiple-launch rocket systems on the Antonivsky bridge last autumn. The bridge connected the city of Kherson with provincial territories across the Dnipro river.
The strikes on the bridge, which has since collapsed, undermined Russia’s ability to supply forces on the western side of the Dnipro river, triggering their retreat south and Kyiv’s liberation of the provincial capital in November.
Additional reporting by Max Seddon