The Antonovsky Bridge, which spans the massive Dnipro River and is one of the only ways to travel into the southern Ukrainian territory of Kherson, was reportedly hit by missiles from US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) on Friday August 26. The bridge serves as a critical route for resupplying Russian troops stationed in Kherson, as well as transporting military equipment and artillery to conflict zones The Flash Twitter account, which frequently posts images and videos detailing the war between Russia and Ukraine, shared an image that appears to show the damage caused to the bridge after Friday’s attack. The image, which has been widely shared on Twitter, appears to be from commercial satellite imagery company Planet. Newsweek was unable to verify the image. Footage also emerged on Friday allegedly showing Ukraine carrying out targeted attacks on the bridge. Kherson became the first major Ukrainian city to be captured by Russia amid the invasion, and since then the Antonovsky Bridge has been repeatedly attacked by Ukraine since July 19. Officials said the Antonovsky Bridge, as well as the Kakhovka Bridge, were targeted by rocket attacks on Wednesday, August 24, which coincided with Ukraine’s Independence Day. Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-backed Kherson military-civilian command, said the Antonovsky bridge was hit by HIMARS missile attacks, but downplayed the damage. “There was a bombing attempt, some holes were added, but the bridge was intact, the air defense worked. HIMARS again,” Stremusov told the TASS news agency. The critical Antonovsky Bridge was also reported to have been targeted by a missile attack in late July, along with two other bridges connecting Kherson. The UK Ministry of Defense said the July 27 attack by Ukraine likely left the Antonovsky Bridge “inoperable”. The Foreign Office said Kherson would be “effectively carved out” from other occupied territories and that losing control of the city would “severely undermine Russia’s efforts to label the occupation a success”. In an Aug. 23 briefing, the State Department said Russia has begun relying on ferry crossings to reach Kherson and has also begun building a “major floating bridge” to replace damaged or destroyed bridges in the city. The State Department said any new bridge would be “vulnerable” to military action from Ukraine. Newsweek has reached out to the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment. A photo taken on July 21, 2022 shows a car driving past a crater on Kherson’s Antonovsky (Antonivskiy) bridge across the Dnipro River caused by a Ukrainian missile attack, amid ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine. STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images
