What plan did the Ukrainian army use?, German media: intensive attack on Crimean bridges in Ukraine | Russia | bridges
According to a report on the website of the German newspaper "South Deutsche Zeitung" on August 7th, Ukraine is intensifying its attacks to isolate the Crimean Peninsula occupied by Russia and make the supply of Russian troops more difficult.
For example, on the 6th, Ukraine attacked the Jongar Bridge for the second time in a week. This bridge is a passage from northeastern Crimea to the land of Ukraine occupied by Russia. Other attacks were targeted at the Gnychysk Bridge located further northeast.
Both of these bridges are part of the M18 main road. The M18 and M17 highways are the only two main roads from Crimea to the Ukrainian mainland. After these two bridges were attacked, the Russian occupation authorities diverted car traffic through a bridge located near the Armenian town of Sk on the M17 highway. At the same time, Russia has increased its attack on Ukrainian targets. Kiev stated that since the beginning of the Russian invasion, a large number of Russian missiles, cruise missiles, and drones have attacked Ukrainian targets.
Ukrainian and Russian officials have confirmed that Ukraine has attacked two important road bridges, Jongar and Gnychysk. The Russian side stated that Ukraine is using the British and French "Storm Shadow" cruise missile with a range of approximately 250 kilometers. Sergei Akshonov, the head of the Crimean occupation authorities, wrote that only one missile damaged the road to the Jongar Bridge. The photos released by Akshonov show relatively small blast pits, and it is currently unclear whether these photos show the actual damage.
According to Russian occupation official Vladimir Sardo, the damage caused by three Ukrainian missiles to the Gnychysk Strait Bridge was very serious. The photos released by local bloggers show that the bridge is severely damaged. The Washington Institute of War Studies estimates that if Moscow wants to transport soldiers, gasoline, and supplies from Crimea to Kherson or the still occupied Zaporizhzhia or Donetsk areas by the only effective route, it may lead to traffic congestion and delays.
The purpose of Ukraine's summer offensive is to repel Russian troops and cut off the supply line from northeastern Crimea to Russia through Berjansk and Mariupol cities. However, Ukrainian troops have only advanced a few kilometers here. Kirilo Budanov, Director of the Intelligence Agency of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, said that the pace of attacks near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine is faster than in southern Ukraine.
Russia has increased its attack on Ukraine. For example, both Russian and Ukrainian military spokespersons confirmed that Moscow bombed a military airport located in the Khmelnytsky region between Kiev and Lviv. This is not the first attack, as early as May 29th, Moscow attacked this military airport and shot down five Ukrainian fighter jets. The Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson confirmed that Russia has attacked the airport again, but he did not disclose any information about the damage.
The spokesperson stated on August 6th, Ukrainian Air Force Day that since Russia launched the attack, Ukrainian air defense systems have destroyed 3500 targets in the air, including 350 Russian aircraft and helicopters, 1200 cruise missiles, and 24 missiles.
Of course, Russian cruise missiles penetrating air defense systems can also cause devastating damage. According to the spokesperson, Ukraine's air defense system can only intercept "70% to 80% of missiles", and the situation with drones is similar.
