Ukrainian forces have struck and severely damaged a bridge that is key to supplying Russian troops in southern Ukraine, a regional official said on Wednesday.

Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Moscow-backed interim administration for the Russian-controlled southern Kherson region, said the Ukrainian military hit the Antonivskyi Bridge, which crosses the Dnipro River, with missiles on Wednesday, scoring 11, according to the AP. blow

He said in comments carried by the Interfax news agency that the bridge suffered serious damage but was not closed to traffic.

"The bridge is in bad shape now," Stremousov was quoted as saying, according to Interfax.

"The bridge was not closed, the traffic through it is still continuing, but the situation is serious."

According to the AP, the 1.4 kilometer bridge is the main crossing across the Dnieper River in the Kherson region, and if it becomes unusable, it would be difficult for the Russian military to continue supplying its forces in the region amid repeated Ukrainian attacks.

More videos from the bridge - pic.twitter.com/HFZkHV3hAB

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 20, 2022

Stremousov said Ukrainian forces used multiple US-supplied HIMARS missiles to hit the bridge, adding that some of them were "caught" by Russian air defenses.

Meanwhile, the Moscow-appointed head of Kherson's administration, Vladimir Saldo, said passenger vehicles were allowed to continue moving across the bridge, but truck traffic was halted to allow for quick repairs.

He noted that trucks could cross the river using a dam about 80 kilometers (50 miles) away.

As it turns out, Wednesday's shelling of the bridge was the second in two days.

It was lightly damaged by Ukrainian shelling the day before, according to Moscow-backed authorities in Kherson.

📽️Ukrainian forces targeted Antonovskiy Bridge near #Kherson.

#UkraineRussiaWar pic.twitter.com/OUtAOw9CQw

— MilitaryLand.net (@Militarylandnet) July 19, 2022

Otherwise, at the beginning of the aggression, Russian troops quickly occupied the Kherson region in the north of the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.

They have faced Ukrainian counterattacks, but have mostly held their ground.

Regarding the strikes on the bridge, there was also a statement from the British Ministry of Defense.

“It is one of the only two road crossing points over the Dnieper by which Russia can supply or withdraw its forces to the territory it has occupied west of the river.

Control of the Dnieper crossings is likely to become a key factor in the outcome of the fighting in the region."

The Ukrainian attacks on the Kherson bridge come as the bulk of Russian forces have been bogged down in fighting in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, the Donbas, where they have made slow gains in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance.

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Telegraph

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