Ukrainian drones have damaged a key bridge connecting Russian-controlled Crimea with the mainland for the second consecutive night, Russian officials said on Tuesday.
The Chonhar bridge, which links the Black Sea peninsula with the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson, the Russian-installed administrative chief of Kherson Vladimir Saldo said on Telegram.
The bridge has been closed to motorists, Saldo said, recommending that they use the alternative route via the nearby Perekop strip that also connects Crimea with the Ukrainian mainland.
The Ukrainian attacks on the bridge are part of an operation launched in May aimed at cutting off Crimea, an important military hub for Russia, which Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
During the full-scale war against Ukraine launched in February 2022, Russia has been using the peninsula to carry out airstrikes on Ukrainian territory and to supply its troops in southern Ukraine.
But the peninsula is vulnerable, as it can only be reached via three access routes: the Chonhar bridge and the Perekop strip in the north, and a new bridge at Kerch in the east that links to the Russian mainland.
However, the Kerch bridge is not considered safe enough to transport fuel by rail or lorry.
Several ferries that were previously operating between Russia and Crimea have also been taken out of action by Ukrainian attacks.
Moscow has built a new road along the Sea of Azov to supply Crimea, but there too Ukrainian medium-range drones have been able to track down military and fuel lorries and destroy them.
Due to the Ukrainian campaign, fuel has been rationed on Crimea, which is an important holiday destination for Russia.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, a Russian missile and drone attack struck the Ukrainian town of Chuhuiv in the eastern Kharkiv region overnight, killing at least three people, according to local authorities. Three people were also reported to have been injured.
By morning, the Ukrainian Air Force had detected 168 Russian drones and missiles, 148 of which had been intercepted, it said.
