Ukrainian officials have confirmed a further attack on a key bridge used to reinforce and resupply occupying Russian forces in southern Ukraine
Multiple social media videos published on Tuesday night showed several large detonations near the Antonivskyi Bridge — the main crossing point of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region that essentially links Ukraine to Russian-annexed Crimea.
Nataliya Humeniuk, spokeswoman for Operational Command South, told Ukrainian television: “Yes, there were blows on the bridge, and they were precise.”
Some context: The Antonivskyi Bridge is one of three that had previously been struck by long-range Ukrainian artillery in an effort to disrupt Russian reinforcements and supplies being moved into Kherson from Crimea.
Ukrainian officials have previously said their goal is to allow civilian traffic to continue using the bridge while making it impassable for heavy equipment.
Last week, Russian state media reported that Ukraine used long-range rockets provided by the West to target the bridge for two days in a row, causing major damage.
“Our forces keep strategic logistics and transport routes under fire control, which are of critical importance to the enemy. We are not destroying the infrastructure; we are destroying the enemy’s plans,” Humeniuk said.
The Antonivskyi Bridge was damaged “significantly,” said Yurii Sobolevskyi, first deputy head of the Kherson regional council.
Sobolevskyi said the Russians were not letting anyone near the bridge, but the restoration would take a long time and pose problems for Moscow’s forces.
Russia downplays impact: Deputy head of the Russian-backed administration in Kherson, Kirill Stremousov, said the “hysteria that is being spun in the media about how the war is going to be decided on this bridge, it’s just a bluff.”
“Now the bridge is shut off to traffic, which only made life a little more difficult for the population of Kherson and the Kherson region. Let me emphasize again, the outcome of the hostilities, the counterattack, will in no way be dictated by their [army’s] performance,” Stremousov said.
Southern counteroffensive: Humeniuk, spokeswoman for Operational Command South, also said Ukrainian forces had made advances in the north of Kherson.
“The counteroffensive in the south of Ukraine is moving forward. The Russian army is demoralized,” she claimed.
She said two villages — Andriyivka and Lozove — had been liberated, and Ukrainian forces were strengthening their positions. The Ukrainian offensive in Kherson began in late May but has made only modest progress so far.