Ukraine strike damages Crimea bridge: Russian official

MOSCOW, June 22, 2023 (AFP) — A strike has damaged a bridge linking the annexed Crimean peninsula to a region of southern Ukraine partially occupied by Russia, a Russian official said on Thursday.

“During the night a strike hit the Chongar bridge. There are no victims,” Sergei Aksyonov, the Russia-installed governor of Crimea, said on Telegram.

The bridge connects Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, to the Ukrainian region of Kherson.

The Russia-installed governor of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, said that Ukrainian strikes had hit “bridges” near Chongar, next to photos of what appeared to be gaping holes on a bridge.

The strike came as Ukraine wages a counter-offensive to recapture territory occupied by Russian forces.

Crimea has been regularly targeted by strikes, mostly using drones, over recent months.