Ukraine Strikes Key Bridges, Russian Command Post on Independence Day

Ukrainian troops struck two key bridges of strategic importance to Russia in Ukraine’s southern region on Wednesday, Ukraine’s Independence Day, officials said.

Both the Kakhovka Bridge and the Antonovsky Bridge near occupied Kherson were struck by Ukraine’s forces. It comes as Ukraine is waging a counter-offensive toward the city, which was seized by Russia in the early stages of the war.

The strikes came as Ukraine marked 31 years of independence from the Soviet Union.

The Kherson region has been almost entirely under the control of Russian forces since the beginning of March when it became the first major city to be seized by Russian troops since the war began.

“Our aircraft launched four strikes on areas where the enemy’s manpower, weapons, and equipment were amassed in Beryslav district, in particular, the air defense systems in Nova Kakhovka,” Ukraine’s Operational Command South said on Facebook.

The command said the bridge was struck by the Ukrainian missile and artillery units as part of fire missions.

“A command and observation point of the battalion tactical group of the 33rd motorized rifle regiment and the 7th military base was hit,” the command added.

A soldier of the Kraken Ukrainian special forces unit observes the area at a destroyed bridge on the road near the village of Rus’ka Lozova, north of Kharkiv, on May 16, 2022. Ukrainian troops struck two key bridges of strategic importance to Russia in Ukraine’s southern region on Wednesday. DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images

Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-backed Kherson Military-Civilian Administration, was quoted by state-owned media as saying that Ukraine’s armed forces had struck the Antonovsky Bridge near Kherson on Wednesday using U.S.-supplied using HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems).

Stremousov, a senior pro-Moscow official, told the TASS news agency that Russia’s air defense worked, but that there were some hits.

“There was an attempt to shell, a couple of holes were added, but the bridge was intact, the air defense worked. HIMARS again,” Stremousov said, adding that the structure of the bridge was not damaged.

Newsweek was not able to independently verify the news of the latest strikes.

Ukraine has targeted both bridges multiple times using high-precision munitions.

The Antonovsky Bridge is significant because it’s the only road bridge connecting Kherson, located on the western side of the Dnipro river, with a part of the Kherson region on the other side. It is the main crossing over the Dnipro, and it’s a key route for Russia to supply its forces occupying territory in Ukraine’s south.

The Kakhovka bridge, which runs over the Nova Kakhovka dam, is also vital to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces because it was being used to transport military equipment in the region. When detailing an earlier strike on the bridge in an August 12 Facebook post, Ukraine’s Operational Command South said it was the last bridge connecting the right and left banks.

The British Ministry of Defense assessed on Tuesday that Russia is preparing to build a floating bridge to continue transporting supplies across the southern frontline.

Newsweek has reached out to Russia’s foreign ministry for comment.