Ukraine strikes Chonhar bridge to Crimea, says Russia

Ukraine has attacked a span linking confederate Ukraine to the Crimean peninsula with long-range British missiles, Russian officials say.

The 2 parallel Chonhar bridges were some damaged but no-one was hurt, said the Russian-installed politician successful occupied Kherson Vladimir Saldo.

He said it was apt British Storm Shadow missiles were utilized successful an onslaught "ordered by London".

The span is the shortest way from Crimea to the beforehand enactment successful the south.

It is besides an important nexus to the occupied metropolis of Melitopol, which lies connected the coastal way from the Russian borderline crossed confederate Ukraine to Crimea.

Photos posted by Vladimir Saldo showed a gaping spread successful 1 of the 2 bridges, but helium said repairs would beryllium made rapidly and vehicles would instrumentality an alternate way temporarily.

Russia uses the roadworthy arsenic a onshore span to Crimea and Melitopol is thought to beryllium 1 of the targets of Ukraine's counter-offensive, which began successful the confederate portion of Zaporizhzhia earlier this month.

Russian forces seized the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine successful 2014 and past successful February past twelvemonth they invaded Ukraine's confederate coastal portion too.

Last autumn Ukraine recaptured the Kherson portion northbound of the Dnipro river. A dam connected the stream was destroyed this period successful a suspected Russian sabotage onslaught which has made a Ukrainian violative crossed the Dnipro overmuch harder.

Ukraine's violative has made dilatory progress, claiming the recapture of 8 villages truthful far.

Russian forces person continued to people Ukrainian cities including a residential country of President Volodymyr Zelensky's location metropolis of Kryvyih Rih and the confederate larboard of Odesa overnight.