Ukraine strikes ‘gate to Crimea’ linking mainland to peninsula: Kherson governor

Ukrainian forces have struck the Chonhar road bridge connecting Crimea with Russian-held parts of the southern Kherson region, with long-range British missiles, the Russia-appointed Kherson governor says.

Kherson Region Acting Governor Vladimir Saldo said on Thursday morning that the two parallel Chonhar bridges, also called “gate to Crimea” by Russians, were both damaged by Ukrainian troops, but did not reveal any serious damage and said they will be restored quickly.

According to Russian investigators, four missiles had been fired by Ukrainian forces at the bridge, the RIA news agency reported.

The news agency quoted a spokesman for military investigators as saying that markings found on the remains of one of the missiles suggested it had been made in France.

However, Saldo said that according to preliminary information, Ukrainian forces have used UK-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles for the strike.

The missile damage was “another completely senseless action carried out by the Kiev regime on orders from London,” he said on Telegram.

“The Kiev terrorists want to intimidate Kherson residents and sow panic among the population, but they will not succeed. We know how to repair bridges quickly: vehicle passage will be restored in the very near future,” he said, adding that there are other land routes to Crimea.

Britain’s Storm Shadow missile has a range “in excess of 250km,” according to its manufacturer, the European arms group MBDA.

Yuriy Sobolevsky, a Ukrainian official on the governing body for the Kherson region, said the strike was “a blow to the military logistics of the occupiers.” “There is no place on the territory of Kherson region where they can feel safe,” he said via Telegram.

The bridge is one of several important routes into Ukraine from the Crimean peninsula and is used by the Russian military to move personnel and supplies.

It is also an important link to the city of Melitopol, which lies on the coastal route from the Russian border across southern Ukraine to Crimea.

“Due to damage to the roadbed on the Chongar Bridge, traffic flows have been temporarily redirected to the Armyansk and Perekop checkpoints. These checkpoints are operating normally,” Crimea’s transport ministry announced.

Russia warns of Ukraine bid to strike Crimea with US, British missiles, vowing backlash

Moscow warns of Kiev plans to attack Crimea with US- and British-supplied missiles, vowing serious backlash.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had warned of Ukraine’s plans to attack Crimea with long-range American and British missiles.

“The use of these missiles outside the zone of our special military operation would mean that the United States and Britain would be fully dragged into the conflict and would entail immediate strikes on decision-making centers in Ukraine,” Shoigu emphasized.

Crimea rejoined Russia in 2014 following a referendum. Moscow considers the peninsula outside the scope of its 'special military operation'- which is centered in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Since the onset of the conflict, the United States and its European allies have unleashed an array of unprecedented sanctions against Russia and poured a huge number of advanced weapons into Ukraine to help its military fend off Russian troops, despite repeated warnings by the Kremlin that such measures will only prolong the war.

The EU has already committed 30 billion Euros from its budget to support Ukraine and this week the block announced it will inject 50 billion Euros ($54.58 billion) in aid over the next four years to support Ukraine against Russia.

In a recent act, the 27-nation bloc approved the 11^th sanction package on Russia which enables the bloc to punish third countries and companies for circumventing existing measures.

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