ISW predicts consequences of attack on Crimean bridge for Russian army logistics in Ukraine's south

The attack on the Crimean bridge, as a result of which automobile traffic was disrupted, will worsen the logistics of the Russian occupiers in the south of Ukraine during the counteroffensive actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

Such conclusions were reached by analysts of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

After the explosions on the bridge connecting the Russian mainland with the temporarily occupied Ukrainian peninsula, the Russian authorities accused the special services of Ukraine of carrying out an unmanned surface attack on the facility on the morning of July 17.

The video recording of the consequences shows that one span of the road bridge across the Kerch Strait collapsed, while the other span was damaged but remained intact.

The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation said at the time that the strikes did not damage either the railway bridge or the pillars of the road bridge, and railway traffic over the bridge was restored a few hours after the strike.

The Russian occupation "authorities" diverted the intensive civilian traffic from captured Crimea to the territory of the Russian Federation through the occupied southern regions in Ukraine, and Russian sources spoke of large traffic jams in the Dzhankoi District of the peninsula and the territory controlled by the occupiers in the Kherson Region towards the city of Melitopol.

The report notes that Russian "tourists" fleeing from occupied Crimea likely increased traffic and most likely hindered Russian logistics from Crimea to "rear areas" in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Regions.

The occupation "authorities" asked civilians to consider alternative evacuation routes to "mitigate urgent traffic problems."

Andrii Yusov, the spokesperson for the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, refused to comment on the country's involvement in the incident.

At the same time, as Ukrainian officials and ISW analysts have previously stated, the bridge across the Kerch Strait and military areas in occupied Crimea are legitimate military targets for the AFU in their defense against a full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation and attempts by the Kremlin to take over our state.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on the morning of Monday, July 17, an explosion occurred on the Crimean bridge illegally built by the Russians, which led to the partial collapse of the canvas on the car part of the structure.

At the same time, law enforcement sources told Ukrainian News that the night attack on the Crimean Bridge was a joint operation of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the Armed Forces Navy.

Earlier, experts of the American Institute for the Study of War named the benefits for the AFU from the damage to the Crimean bridge.

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