Explosion damages bridge linking Crimea to Ukraine

Ukrainian authorities have said that for the country’s nearly 16-month war to end, Moscow must withdraw its forces from Crimea as well as from areas they seized during last year’s full-scale invasion

An explosion damaged a bridge that is one of the few links between Crimea and Ukraine’s mainland, Russia-backed officials said on Thursday, as the early stages of a Ukrainian counteroffensive unfold.

Russian forces in Crimea—which Russia annexed in 2014—use the Chongar bridge to reach southern Ukraine’s Kherson province. Russia and Ukraine control different sides of the province, which is a focus of fighting and attacks as Ukrainian troops try to reclaim Russian-occupied territory. Ukrainian authorities have said that for the country’s nearly 16-month war to end, Moscow must withdraw its forces from Crimea as well as from areas they seized during last year’s full-scale invasion.

Damage to the bridge was not severe and likely will be repaired within several days, Vladimir Konstantinov, chairman of the parliament of Crimea, said. Vladimir Saldo, the Russia-appointed head of the occupied parts of Kherson province, said the explosion appeared to have been caused by a long-range cruise missile that France and the UK have given to Ukraine’s military.

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