Ukraine Destroys Crimea Rail Bridge as 3 Die in Russian Strike on Kryvyi Rih

3 articles · Updated · DW (English) · Jun 23

Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said they destroyed a railway bridge over the North Crimean canal, calling it a strategic supply route linking occupied Crimea with mainland Russia via the Kerch corridor.
Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said the strike is part of a drone campaign to “isolate Crimea,” after recent attacks on Crimean fuel facilities and a refinery near Moscow on June 18.
Russia said the widening strikes are pressuring its fuel market: Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Moscow is weighing a diesel export ban and other support measures after refinery and depot hits.
Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown, was hit by a Russian ballistic missile with a cluster-munition warhead, killing 3 people and injuring more than 20.
Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014 and used as a launch point in the 2022 invasion, remains central to Ukraine’s effort to disrupt Russian logistics and strike deeper behind the front.