Russia’s war in Ukraine – Update in Europe
A number of explosions have been reported on vital street bridges linking Crimea with components of the Russian-occupied Kherson area in Ukraine, in accordance with Russian-installed officers.
A bridge connecting the Arabat Spit, which is situated on Crimea’s east coast, and the Ukrainian metropolis of Henichesk was among the many reported targets. Explosions have been heard within the metropolis, in accordance with an unofficial Telegram channel, RIA Melitopol.
Strikes additionally hit the Chonhar bridge, which hyperlinks the Kherson area and Crimea, stated Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Russian-installed authorities in Zaporizhzhia.
“A complete of three or 4 hits are reported. The extent of the harm continues to be unknown,” he stated.
The Russian-appointed chief of occupied Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, stated Ukraine fired 12 missiles on the Chonhar bridge and 9 had been shot down.
Saldo claimed Kyiv used superior British Storm Shadow missiles within the assault. He additionally stated the strikes hit a village college, and that one civilian who was on the bridge on the time of the assault was wounded.
Saldo stated officers had been nonetheless sorting via particulars of the assault and the extent of the harm to the bridge, a gasoline pipeline and close by cities.
The Russian-appointed head of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, additionally acknowledged the assault, saying on Telegram {that a} bridge for vehicles and vehicles was broken, and “restore work is already starting.”
CNN can’t independently confirm the Russian officers’ claims, and Ukraine has not instantly commented on the assault.
Key context: Russia annexed the peninsula of Crimea in 2014, in a transfer condemned by Ukraine and its allies as unlawful underneath worldwide regulation. Kyiv has vowed to retake Crimea together with the territory occupied by Russia because it launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Key bridges join the peninsula to mainland Russia and to areas of Ukraine occupied by Moscow’s troops, which are actually managed by Russia-installed leaders.
Crimean bridges have emerged as key targets in Ukrainian drone and missile assaults, particularly as Ukraine vows to ramp up its assault on Russian targets in and across the Black Sea, and as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv’s troops are working “to carry the warfare again the place it got here from.”
