Ukraine attacks a strategic bridge in the occupied city of Kherson | Ukraine and Russia

The Antonovsky Bridge, located in a suburb of Kherson, is extremely important for supplying the region: it is the only bridge connecting the city with the southern bank of the Dnieper River and the rest of the Kherson region.

“Those who shot on the bridge made life a little more difficult for the residents,” Kirill Strimosov, a representative of the occupation authorities in Moscow, told Russian media, downplaying the impact of the incident.

“It will not have an impact on the outcome of the fighting,” he added, without specifying the extent of the damage. According to Strimosov, “everything is planned”, and the Russian army will install military bridges and other facilities to allow the river to cross.

Kherson, the capital of the homonymous region, is located a few kilometers from the front where Ukrainian forces launched a counterattack to regain these lands lost in the early days of the Russian offensive on Ukraine.

Passengers must learn to swim to cross [rio] Dnieper. Or leave Kherson while they can,” tweeted Mikhailo Podolyak, Ukrainian presidential adviser, commenting on the attack on the Antonovsky Bridge.

“Accurate and surgical” work

Natalia Gominiuk, a spokeswoman for the Southern Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, confirmed the attacks on the bridge to the press in her country. She added that the artillery work was “accurate and surgical” and “aimed at demoralizing” the enemy’s forces. counterattack Ukraine The area has already allowed the advance of troops in recent weeks and the approach of the Kherson front.

The region is essential for Ukrainian agriculture and is also strategic because it borders Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. By occupying it, Russia She managed to build a land bridge to connect the Crimea with the Russian lands and other regions.

The occupation authorities are also planning to hold a referendum on the annexation of Kherson and the neighboring Zaporizhia region.