Ukraine destroys routes to Crimea
Attacks on bridges affect Russian logistics
08/07/2023, 09:11 am
The Ukrainians target the bridges to Crimea and appear to cause significant damage when attacked. As the US think tank ISW writes, the Russian logistics are probably severely disrupted, and the repairs could drag on.
The Ukrainian attacks on bridges connecting annexed Crimea to the Russian-held Kherson region appear to “represent a significant disruption to logistics.” This writes that Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in its most recent analysis. The Russian occupation authorities reported hits and damage to the road bridges at Chonhar and near Henichesk on Sunday. The links are strategically important and serve as key routes for Russian communications, logistics and transport.
The attack on the Henichesk bridge “is likely to force Russian forces to divert military traffic to longer western routes between occupied Crimea and occupied Kherson territory,” writes the ISW. This will cause “a significant bottleneck” in the Russian supply lines. The institute expects significant disruptions to logistics, delays and traffic jams as a result. The repair work would probably take a while.
The Chonhar Bridge, in turn, is the shortest connection between Crimea and the southern front line. According to the crew chief of the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson Vladimir Saldo, she was hit by a missile and damaged. As a result, traffic had to be blocked. The bridge is an important supply route for the occupying army, according to Russian information it is already being repaired. However, the ISW considers it unclear how quickly this is possible. It is also not known whether the Russians have repaired the Chonhar railway bridge after it was hit by Ukrainian forces on July 29.
Ferry service also closed
According to the Russian occupation authorities in Crimea, car traffic to the peninsula in the north was only possible on two connecting routes to the mainland after the attacks. On Sunday evening, the Russian civil defense also announced the blocking of the ferry connection to Crimea via the Kerch Strait until Monday morning.
In an unusual move, Ukrainian forces claimed responsibility for the attacks on the bridges a few hours later. Before that, Kiev had only admitted attacks on bridges to Crimea much later. Kiev wants to liberate all parts of its territory occupied by Russia. This also includes Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in violation of international law in 2014.