The temporary route closure after an alleged Ukrainian attack on the Chonhar bridges between Ukraine's mainland and occupied Crimea on June 22 caused vital Russian logistics convoys to take at least 50% longer to reach the front via alternative routes, the U.K. Defense Ministry said on June 28.
The Chonhar Bridge is one of the main connecting roads between the Crimean peninsula and the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast. There are a total of three key vehicular bridges and two railway ones linking the peninsula with the mainland.
Early morning on June 22, Russian sources reported several missile strikes on the bridges, claiming that they were carried out with Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which have recently been delivered to Ukraine by the U.K.
Russian forces had reportedly used the bridge to move large amounts of military equipment and personnel to Ukraine's mainland.
The route over the Chonhar bridges is the most direct route from Russia’s Crimean logistics hub at Dzhankoi to Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where Russia is currently trying to stop a Ukrainian counteroffensive from regaining occupied territories in the south of the country.
Russian authorities almost certainly constructed a pontoon bridge replacement crossing within 24 hours of the attack, but crossings are likely limited to military traffic only.
Dinara Khalilova
(Updated: )
