Ukraine aims to isolate Crimea from Russia, drone commander 'Madyar' says
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Ukraine aims to isolate occupied Crimea from Russia by disrupting key military supply routes to the peninsula, Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces Robert Brovdi, known by the call sign "Madyar," said in an interview published by Reuters on June 11.
"We will isolate Crimea in the near future," Brovdi told Reuters from a command post near the front line.
Brovdi said Russian military cargo traffic along the R-280 "Novorossiya" highway, which connects Russia with occupied Crimea through Mariupol, Berdiansk, and Melitopol, has fallen by 71% over the past two weeks due to Ukrainian strikes.
"Within another month, we will have total control over the road," he told Reuters.
Brovdi said Ukraine's broader objective is to make it increasingly difficult for Russian troops and defense industry personnel to operate in Crimea and other occupied territories.
"We will create conditions that will make it extremely difficult for any military personnel or those working in the defense industry to remain in Crimea, in the temporarily occupied territories, or use the access routes to them," he told Reuters.
The comments come as Ukraine has intensified its campaign against Russian logistics routes and military infrastructure connecting occupied Crimea to Russian-controlled territory.
Overnight on June 11, Ukrainian strikes targeted military facilities across occupied Crimea and damaged multiple bridges on the overland approaches to the peninsula, according to Russian-installed officials and monitoring channels.
The attacks are the latest in a series of Ukrainian efforts to disrupt transport links used by Russian forces to move personnel and supplies into Crimea. Among the most significant targets has been the Chonhar Bridge, a key crossing linking occupied Crimea with occupied parts of Kherson Oblast.
Ukrainian forces struck the bridge on June 7 and again on June 9. Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, said the latest attack destroyed the crossing.
