The Chonhar Bridge was blown up in Crimea

On the night of June 22, the Chonhar Bridge was blown up in occupied Crimea. It passes through the Chonhar Strait, connecting Crimea and the Kherson region.

The occupation authorities of Crimea announced this.

The bridge received significant damage, and traffic through it was suspended. Due to the hit, part of the roadway is pierced through.

According to information coming from the local residents, all cars are currently turned at the checkpoint near the bridge and directed through the Crimean Bridge or Armyansk.

The bridge is a strategic object that plays an important role in the logistics of the Russian invasion forces. Thus, due to the suspension of traffic through Chonhar, Russian trucks will have to make a detour of 100 kilometers to get from Crimea to occupied Melitopol, which will take at least several hours.

The conditions of the deployment of large Russian ammunition depots in the deep rear due to the threat of HIMARS strikes can greatly complicate the ammunition supply and negatively affect the defense capability of positions in the Zaporizhzhia direction.

Missile strike

As a result of the strike with an unknown weapon, the bridge received significant damage to the roadway. In its characteristic signs, the consequences of the strike are similar to the result of the missile weapon use, which could be observed after attacks on the Antonivka Road Bridge.

The missile strike theory is also supported by the traces of a rupture from the hit of an unknown weapon near the bridge.

The bridge is located 128 kilometers away from the nearest point of the line of engagement, namely the right bank of the Kherson region. This eliminates the possibility of using the already traditional GMLRS precision missiles from HIMARS MRL, the range of which does not exceed 84 kilometers.

The Storm Shadow cruise missiles recently delivered by the UK are a potential candidate for hitting targets at such a long range. However, the somewhat modest consequences of a hit do not match the power of the missile’s 450-kilogram warhead.

The Ukrainian “Vilkha-M” missile could be considered another candidate. It was built before the start of the Russian invasion and was in the final stages of development in 2022. The 150 km range of these missiles covers the distance to the bridge, and its warhead weighing 170 kg is similar in effect to that of the GMLRS 91 kg one.

On February 28, 2023, Ivan Vinnyk, First Deputy Chairman of the National Association of the Defense Industrial Complex of Ukraine, shared that the manufacturers were planning to modify Vilkha-M. He declined to specify exactly when the missiles might be ready and how many would be manufactured.

“Let’s just say, we hope, just during the counteroffensive, the probability of which is expected in the south, in the direction of the Sea of Azov,” he said. “Tests will take place on the battlefield.”