Ukrainian missile strikes bridge connecting mainland, Crimea, say Russia-appointed officials

Vladimir Saldo, Russia-appointed Kherson governor, said road was damaged but no casualties were reported. He said Storm Shadow missiles were likely to have been used for attack.

Kyiv: A Ukrainian missile attack struck the Chongar bridge connecting Russian-held parts of the Kherson region with the Crimean peninsula, forcing traffic to be diverted to a different route, Russia-appointed officials in both regions said on Thursday.

Vladimir Saldo, the Russia-appointed Kherson governor, said the road was damaged but no casualties were reported. He said Storm Shadow missiles were likely to have been used for the attack.

Crimea’s governor, Sergey Aksyonov, said specialists were examining the site to determine when traffic over the bridge could resume.

Known as “the gate to Crimea”, the Chongar bridge is one of a handful of bridges linking Crimea – which was annexed by Russia in 2014 – with the mainland. The bridges provide an alternative to the narrow isthmus connecting the peninsula and the continent.

Taking control of the region from the west coast of the Sea of Azov to the east bank of the Dnipro river, has been one of Moscow’s key successes so far in the war, as it meant Crimea was no longer cut off from other Russian-held territory.

Destroying this link could give Ukraine both an advantage in retaking the peninsula and leverage in any future negotiations.

Ukrainian officials, in turn, reported a drone attack overnight on the port city of Odesa, where a warehouse was destroyed. Missiles also struck and a residential area in the central Kryvyi Rih region, and there was shelling and bombing along the frontlines, they said.

The Ukrainian troops had partial success in the direction of Rivnopil and Staromayorske in the Donetsk region, and were holding on to their gains, said Andriy Kovalev, a spokesman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In the Lyman direction, the Ukrainian troops also mounted offensive actions in the direction of the settlements of Bilogorivka and Dibrova, Kovalev said, adding that they had achieved partial success, and had dug in to hold onto their gains.

Ukrainian troops are also resisting Russian attacks in the areas of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariynka.

“Particularly heavy fighting continues in the Lymansky direction in the areas northwest of Dibrova, near Serebryansk forestry and north of Hryhorivka in the Donetsk region.”

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Tom Hogue)

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