The U.K. defense ministry said in its intelligence update on Oct. 22 that Russian forces have completed building a barge bridge over the Dnipro River as they face “increasing pressure” in Kherson amid Ukraine’s advancing counteroffensive.
The barge bridge, likely used by the Russian military for the first time in decades, is situated alongside the damaged Antonovskiy Bridge in southern Kherson Oblast.
Russia’s decision to build this rare type of bridge signals that it has lost “significant quantities of military bridging equipment and engineering personnel during its invasion,” according to the U.K. Defense Ministry.
The ministry added that if the barge bridge is damaged, it is “almost certain” that Russian forces will do the repairs quickly since they continue to face pressure as Ukraine presses forward to the southern regional capital, Kherson.
Russian proxies have evacuated from Kherson to an undisclosed location on the eastern side of the Dnipro River, where Ukrainian forces are not advancing. Southern military command spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk previously said that there were Russian soldiers fleeing from the western bank of the river to the eastern bank but did not indicate an approximate number.
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