On the night of Wednesday June 21 to Thursday June 22, a Ukrainian strike hit the Changar Bridge, connecting annexed Crimea and an area of Ukraine’s Kherson region occupied by Russian forces. “There were no casualties,” said Russian governor of annexed Crimea Sergei Aksionov, adding that the damage was being assessed and calling on residents to calm down.
This strike, reported by the Russian authorities, comes as Ukrainian forces have been carrying out offensive actions since the beginning of June on several sectors of the front, particularly in southern Ukraine. Crimea serves in particular as a logistical rear base for Russian forces deployed in southern Ukraine.
While Sergei Aksionov mentioned only one damaged bridge, a Russian occupation official in Kherson reported several damaged infrastructures, without giving details. Kyiv forces “bombarded civilian infrastructure: bridges at the administrative boundary between Kherson region and Crimea near Chongar”, said Vladimir Saldo, installed by Moscow as head of the occupied areas in Kherson.
Crimea is regularly targeted by Ukrainian attacks, including from drones. In October 2022, a powerful explosion severely damaged the only bridge directly connecting annexed Crimea to Russia.