Bridge Sitting on Key RUssian Supply Route Near Crimea Struck by Missiles; RU Admits Chonhar Bridge ‘seriously damaged’; UKRainian Forces Strike 23 RU Artillery Units and 2 Communication Centers; UKR Defense Forces Advance in South, Conducting Offence on 2 Fronts, LIVE UPDATES and MORE
Bridge sitting on key Russian supply route near Crimea struck by missiles:
Russia-appointed officials in Crimea said that a bridge between the Moscow-annexed peninsula and Russia-occupied areas in southern Ukraine was hit by missiles Thursday, threatening a key supply link to Russian forces amid the early stages of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
The Russian military has relied on the Chongar bridge as the principal connection to its forces in the Kherson region, part of which is controlled by Moscow. Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-appointed Kherson governor, said the bridge was hit by air-launched Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the U.K.
Ukrainian authorities, who usually refrain from commenting on specific attacks, didn’t directly claim responsibility for the strike, but spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk for the Ukrainian military’s Southern Command emphasized the importance of derailing Russia’s logistics in televised comments.
“We are destroying enemy plans, destroying the enemy’s capability to stand up against us,” she said.
Russia-appointed officials in Crimea said that while it could take weeks to fully repair the bridge, traffic could continue on one lane and noted that two other crossings are also available. But despite those attempts to downplay the damage, the attack has hurt the Russian military logistics at a time when Ukranian forces are probing Russian defenses in the initial stages of a long-expected counteroffensive.
Ukrainian authorities have said that for the war to end, Russia must withdraw its forces from Crimea that it illegally annexed in 2014 as well as from the areas that Moscow seized since launching the full-scale invasion 16 months ago.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu warned earlier this week that Ukraine was planning to use U.S.-made HIMARS and U.K.-provided Storm Shadow missiles to attack Russian territory, including Crimea. He warned that use of those missiles against targets outside the combat zone would “trigger immediate strikes on the decision-making centers on the territory of Ukraine.”
But on Thursday, Shoigu sought to downplay the importance of West-supplied advanced weapons like the Storm Shadow missiles as he reported to Putin during a session of Russia’s Security Council. —>READ MORE HERE
Russia admits Chonhar bridge ‘seriously damaged’:
Moscow-appointed “governor” of Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast, Vladimir Saldo, said that the Chonhar Bridge – a key link to occupied Crimea – is “much more seriously damaged than we initially thought,” suggesting it may be out of commission for some time.
According to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, Saldo said the bridge will be “examined” over “next 15-20 days,” adding that the bridge is currently out of use.
Early on June 22, Russian sources reported a Ukrainian strike on the bridge near Chonhar, near the border between Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast and Crimea.
When asked to comment on the apparent Ukrainian missile strike, Ukrainian Military Intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov said “more to come.”
In a subsequent interview with NV Radio, Ukraine’s Operational Command South spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk said that Ukrainian forces can now project firepower across all transportation links in northern Crimea. —>READ MORE HERE
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