Russian officials accused the Ukrainian military of targeting a bridge that serves as a key supply line between the Crimean peninsula and the southern city of Kherson, both of which are occupied by Russia.
The surface of the Chongar bridge was damaged, while there were no human casualties, Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor for southern Kherson, said on Telegram on Thursday. He also said the strikes likely involved four British Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
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"This will not affect the course of the special operation in any way — there are other land routes to the Crimea," Saldo said, adding, "Kyiv terrorists want to intimidate Kherson residents, sow panic among the population, but they will not be able to do this."
Video Saldo shared from the scene shows a significant hole in the road bridge and apparent damage to the rail track.
“We cannot confirm or deny” the Chongar bridge strikes, Andriy Yusov, an officer in Ukraine’s military intelligence, told the Financial Times. “The leadership of the occupiers bears responsibility for what is happening on the occupied territories.”
Russia has used Crimea, which it has occupied for nearly a decade, as a staging base for much of its military operations during the 16 months of the war in Ukraine. They currently have a land bridge from Crimea to Russia along the Sea of Azov coastline through the occupation of the southeastern part of Ukraine. While this one attack won’t sever that connection, doing so may be critical for their attempts to regain the peninsula.
This isn't the first time Ukraine has targeted one of the bridges connecting Crimea to Russia, indicating that they could turn to this strategy to further blunt Russian aggression and set themselves up for success in their counter-offensive. In early October, a large blast damaged the Kerch Bridge, which is the only one that directly connects Crimea to the Russian mainland.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Thursday that Russian forces were preparing a “terrorist act” at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station.
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Ukrainian “intelligence has received information that Russia is considering the scenario of a terrorist act at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant — a terrorist act with the release of radiation,” Zelensky said in a video address released on social media. “They have prepared everything for this.”
Russia denied the allegation, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying it was "another lie.”