(Reuters) – The Chonhar road bridge linking mainland Ukraine to Crimea was damaged by a Ukrainian missile strike on Sunday, according to Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea, as reported by Russia’s RIA news agency. The acting Kherson regional governor, Vladimir Saldo, also appointed by Moscow, stated that the strike involved an Anglo-French Storm Shadow missile but provided no evidence. Both officials confirmed that the bridge is now closed for repairs.
This is not the first time the bridge has been targeted. In June, Ukraine launched a strike on the same bridge, which is used by the Russian military to move between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine under their control.
In addition to the Chonhar road bridge, Saldo reported in his Telegram channel that a small bridge across the Tonky Strait, connecting the town of Henichesk with the narrow Arabat Spit on Crimea’s northeast coast, had been shelled. He also mentioned that a civilian driver had been injured, although it remains unclear if traffic on the bridge is currently suspended.
Furthermore, Saldo informed that a gas pipeline running alongside the bridge, serving Henichesk, had been damaged as well. As a result, over 20,000 people in the area have been left without gas supply.
These attacks on the transportation infrastructure are causing significant disruptions for residents and travelers to the peninsula. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and it holds both military importance for Moscow and is a popular tourist destination for Russians.
Last month, Ukrainian media attributed an attack on the Russian-built Crimean Bridge to Ukrainian sea drones, marking the second time in less than a year that the bridge had been severely damaged, resulting in restricted road traffic during the peak summer holiday season.
In a separate incident, in the early hours of Saturday, a Ukrainian sea drone loaded with explosives targeted and damaged a Russian fuel tanker near the Crimean Bridge, marking the second attack in 24 hours.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Alex Richardson and Hugh Lawson)
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