Antonovsky Bridge was one of the Russian Army’s vital lifelines to occupied Kherson. This was just one of many events that occurred on an explosive day of the Ukraine War.
Visegrad 24 posted a picture of the bridge that was reportedly struck by ten missiles to its Twitter account.
The Antonivsky bridge near Kherson looks very crisp this morning.
Reports say that up to 10 Ukrainian missiles have hit the bridge. pic.twitter.com/9MMujbyemi
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 22, 2022
The strike was made possible by the arrival of several Russian ammo trucks headed north, laden with supplies for troops in the Kherson area that Kyiv has promised to retake. Exploding ammo only contributed to the destruction.
Antonovsky bridge in Kherson across the Dnieper River after the Ukrainian attack. About 10 trucks loaded with ammunition were driving across the bridge. It’s probably the detonation of one of them. Locals write about the collapse of the bridge span pic.twitter.com/EvnO41zYe9
— Paul Jawin (@PaulJawin) August 22, 2022
It doesn’t matter if it was luck or highly actionable intelligence. Russia has lost an important crossing of the Dnipro River. The Dnipro River is not only wide, making it difficult for people to cross it; it also contains the Kakhovka Reservoir which makes it completely inaccessible for Russia’s supplies.
Antonovsky Bridge is, as far as I can tell by various maps of the Dnipro region, the most extensive motorway crossing the Dnipro.
📹 This is what the Odesa region looks like after the night attacks. Russian troops fired 5 Kalibr missiles
This was reported in Operational Command “Pivden.”
Two missiles were shot down by air defense forces over the sea, pic.twitter.com/YNBgVEpM0w— 💙🇬🇧KarmA🇪🇺🇩🇪💛 (@Krma4Karma) August 22, 2022
Russia attacked Ukraine’s last major port, Odesa, Sunday night with five cruise missiles from Kalibr.
Local air defenses reportedly destroyed two of them. Three other aircraft were reportedly targeted at an agricultural enterprise, and at least one-grain silo was destroyed.
Kharkiv residents were evacuated to shelters for air raids Monday night, as Russian aggression was threatening.
Russian-held Donetsk is home to another supply dump, where ammo and fuel are being smuggled.
In Donetsk, an ammunition depot is on fire and continues to detonate. pic.twitter.com/Ud2XR4gAIE
— Ukraine Front Lines (@EuromaidanPR) August 22, 2022
Recent weeks have seen great results for Ukraine, which has been targeting Russian supply dumps using high-precision HIMARS rockets.
But:
This is not going to be a win for Ukraine if Russia makes things more difficult. As I have written, Kyiv must take back land from places like Luhansk or Donetsk, where Russia has concentrated its efforts.
It is not the same thing as winning the war against Russia.
Unconfirmed internet chatter about “large explosives” in and around Sevastopol is even more frustrating, at least for someone who writes about these topics.
Oliver Alexander, a defense analyst, reported Monday that Russian Telegram channels were filled with reports of explosions heard “all over the city.”
Russian pro-war channels report of “major explosion felt throughout Sevastopol”, “windows blown out, walls shaking”
— Christo Grozev (@christogrozev) August 22, 2022
We don’t have any video or photos of the damage or explosions, which is quite curious. The First Selfie War in Ukraine is actually the Ukraine War. Soldiers and civilians immediately upload any information they find.
Sevastopol residents might be reporting that their cars are backfiring or similar enemy actions, perhaps skittish about other recent attacks. It would not be a good indicator of Russian morale if that is the case.
Some indications are that this might be true:
Antonovsky Bridge Knocked Out
Recent attempts by Ukraine to launch small drone strikes on targets in Crimea have failed. If I had to guess, Sevastopol locals are likely overreacting to Russian antiaircraft missile launch against more drones.
Maybe Ukraine got a huge hit and Moscow managed to censor information from Sevastopol. I will continue to search for evidence and update the report as necessary.
These reports are not encouraging for me.
Russian forces appear exhausted and have not made any progress, even with the protection provided by artillery strikes from their July 3 lines, in the Donbas.
Ukraine, on the other hand, has managed to degrade Russia’s already poor logistics. Although this is a positive thing, Ukraine seems to lack the firepower and manpower to launch a real counteroffensive in the Kherson region, which is less contested.
Soon, autumn rains will arrive, and everything will be soaked. The winter freeze will follow.
If either side is going to make another big push this year, they’re running out of time to make it.
