Multiple explosions have been reported on critical road bridges linking Crimea with parts of the Russian-occupied Kherson region in Ukraine, according to Russian-installed officials.
A bridge connecting the Arabat Spit, which is located on Crimea’s east coast, and the Ukrainian city of Henichesk was among the reported targets. Explosions have been heard in the city, according to an unofficial Telegram channel, RIA Melitopol.
Strikes also hit the Chonhar bridge, which links the Kherson region and Crimea, said Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Russian-installed government in Zaporizhzhia.
“A total of three or four hits are reported. The extent of the damage is still unknown,” he said.
The Russian-appointed leader of occupied Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, said Ukraine fired 12 missiles at the Chonhar bridge and nine had been shot down.
Saldo claimed Kyiv used advanced British Storm Shadow missiles in the attack. He also said the strikes hit a village school, and that one civilian who was on the bridge at the time of the attack was wounded.
Saldo said officials were still sorting through details of the attack and the extent of the damage to the bridge, a gas pipeline and nearby towns.
The Russian-appointed head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, also acknowledged the attack, saying on Telegram that a bridge for cars and trucks was damaged, and “repair work is already beginning.”
CNN cannot independently verify the Russian officials’ claims, and Ukraine has not immediately commented on the attack.
Key context: Russia annexed the peninsula of Crimea in 2014, in a move condemned by Ukraine and its allies as illegal under international law. Kyiv has vowed to retake Crimea along with the territory occupied by Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Key bridges connect the peninsula to mainland Russia and to areas of Ukraine occupied by Moscow’s troops, which are now controlled by Russia-installed leaders.
Crimean bridges have emerged as key targets in Ukrainian drone and missile attacks, especially as Ukraine vows to ramp up its assault on Russian targets in and around the Black Sea, and as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv’s troops are working “to bring the war back where it came from.”
