Missile attack in video – Ukraine paralyzed the “gateway to Crimea” with an attack

Thursday’s attack is believed to have been carried out using Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the UK. According to Russian sources, there were no casualties. The damaged bridge is one of three connecting routes from Crimea to northern Kherson. It is part of a road used by the Russian military to move between Crimea and other Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

Strategic point
It is strategically important for Moscow to control the area from the west of the Sea of ​​Azov to the eastern bank of the Dnipro River so that Crimea is not cut off from direct access to Russia. Cutting these links could be beneficial for Ukraine to retake the peninsula or leverage potential negotiations.

Ukrainian offensive on track
Splitting the Russian invading forces in the south and east is a major goal of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. According to its own statements, Ukraine is making progress as planned. Armed forces continued to advance in the south, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar said on Ukrainian television on Friday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently stated that the offensive was “proceeding more slowly than desired”, but would not be pressured.

“In the south, the attacks of our forces continue, we advance gradually, partially succeed, push back the enemy and straighten the front,” Maljar previously wrote on her Telegram channel. Accordingly, the attacks are in the direction of Melitopol and Berdyansk. However, these major cities are still far from the front in the hinterland occupied by Russia.

“Big blow is yet to come”
There was no information about other cities that had been taken. So far, eight settlements and 113 square kilometers of occupied territory have been recaptured in the counter-offensive, Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal said recently. He urged patience. Ukrainian troops are advancing gradually and steadily, even though they are hampered by Russian minefields. “You shouldn’t expect the offensive to be anything very quick,” said Maljar. The big blow is yet to come. Some reserve units would not be deployed until later.

According to the deputy defense minister, there is also heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine. Here, Kiev’s army is largely on the defensive, but Russian attacks on the cities of Kupyansk and Lyman have been repulsed. It was possible to take positions and inflict heavy losses on the Russian attackers in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russia continues to try to completely conquer both oblasts.

The Ukrainian military has repelled a Russian missile attack on a military airport in the western Khmelnytskyi region, according to the Ukrainian military. The air defense shot down 13 Russian cruise missiles aimed at the air base. The missiles were fired by Russian bombers from the Caspian Sea area. Russia, meanwhile, reported one death in the occupied southern region of Zaporizhia after Ukrainian troops shelled a road near the village of Novohorivka. Another person was injured.

Presumably heavy casualties on both sides
The advance into the heavily fortified areas under Russian control, though small, is the largest since November. The Kiev leadership has been preparing for months for the counter-offensive, which it hopes will mark a turning point in the war. However, it has imposed a news freeze and independent reports are scarce. But there would be heavy casualties on both sides. Experts say most Ukrainian troops have yet to be deployed, some of them trained and equipped by the West.