Missiles hit Russian-held bridge far behind Ukraine’s frontline

A Russian-occupied bridge far behind the front lines that helps Moscow supply its troops in Ukraine was hit by missiles on Thursday, local Kremlin-backed officials said.

The bridge, which connects the occupied Crimean peninsula to the rest of Ukraine, was hit by several rockets overnight in a nighttime attack that some officials blamed on Kiev.

While Ukrainian forces have stepped up their attacks on the peninsula that Moscow seized long before the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian government has generally refused to officially confirm it, and so it did again on Thursday.

The bridge, which consists of two spans, crosses Chonhar Strait to connect Crimea and Kherson region.

Videos and photos verified by The New York Times showing damage to both spans. The main road bridge has a hole and the surface of the smaller bridge that runs alongside it also appears to be damaged.

Sergei Aksyonov, the Kremlin-installed leader of Crimea, said there were no casualties in the attack and bomb technicians were investigating the cause.

While Mr Aksyonov did not blame the attack, Russia-backed governor of occupied Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, directly blamed Ukraine. He accused the “criminal Kiev regime” of hitting the bridge with long-range Storm Shadow missiles supplied by Britain.

But Mr. Balance also struck a dismissive tone.

“We know how to repair bridges quickly,” he said on Telegram. “Vehicle access will be restored in the very near future.”

The attack came just days after an attack on a Russian ammunition depot in the Kherson region and appeared to be part of a broader Ukrainian strategy to hinder the supply of Russian units repelling Kiev’s counter-offensive in southern Ukraine.

Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, has been used for the past year as a staging post for the full-scale invasion that launched in February 2022. It has served as a key link in the Russian military supply chain supporting the tens of thousands of soldiers occupying parts of southern Ukraine.

In recent months, in anticipation of the counter-offensive, Russia has been trying to bolster its defenses along the coast of Crimea by laying land mines and building obstacles to slow down tanks.

Earlier this week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei K. Shoigu claimed that the Ukrainian military was planning to attack Crimea with long-range missiles and warned of “immediate retaliatory strikes” if they did. When a bombing raid in October severely damaged another bridge on the Crimean peninsula – connecting it to the Russian mainland – Russia responded by attacking Ukraine’s power grid, a serious escalation in the war.

On Thursday, addressing a meeting of the Russian Security Council, Mr Shoigu offered assurances that his troops would be able to withstand the recently launched Ukrainian counter-offensive.

Mr Shoigu exuded confidence even as Ukraine’s western allies supply more weapons and analysts say the main line of Kiev’s counter-offensive is yet to come.

“For our part, we are also preparing,” Mr. Shoigu said at the meeting.

President Vladimir V. Putin, in remarks perhaps less directed at the defense minister than at the Russian public watching the meeting on state television, issued a warning.

“The enemy’s offensive potential has not been exhausted and some strategic reserves have not been used,” Putin said. He said, “I would ask you to take that into account. We have to start from the real situation.”

The Russian military suffered heavy casualties in the war, but Mr Shoigu said efforts to recruit additional contract soldiers and volunteers had led to more than 160,000 new servicemen, although he did not specify in what time frame. He said Russia would form a new reserve army by the end of this month.

Russian state television channels have taken a similarly optimistic tone about Russian success on the battlefield, but there have been some skeptics.

“What we are being told about Ukraine’s counter-offensive is not true,” said Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, head of the Wagner paramilitary group, in a voice message released by his press service on Thursday, reiterating his frequent criticism of Russian military officials.

“What the president is getting on his table is a total lie,” he said.

Hayley Willis And Paul Son reporting contributed.