Russia attacked Zaporizhia again and it did so one day after the explosion that caused damage to the Crimean bridge, in what represents a new setback for Moscow’s fragile war logistics, which transported heavy military equipment and supplies through this infrastructure. troops in southern Ukraine.
The Russian Armed Forces launched twelve missiles on Zaporizhiain a new attack on civilian infrastructure that at least caused 20 dead and dozens of injured, including children, according to data from the National Police and the governor of the southern region, Oleksandr Starukh.
“Zaporijia again. Again merciless blows against peaceful people. In residential buildings, right in the middle of the night,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Absolute evil. Savages and terrorists. From the one who gave this order to all who carried it out. They will certainly take responsibility. Before the law and the people “, he stressed him.
His Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and the Ministry of Defense urgently asked the West for more modern air and missile defense systems.
Damage assessment
This is the third missile attack in ten days against Zaporizhia, after last Thursday’s bombing in which 20 Ukrainians were killed and missiles fired on September 30 against a humanitarian convoy that caused 32 victims.
Meanwhile, 500 kilometers south of Zaporizhia, Russian divers have begun to assess the damage to the Crimean bridgewhich was supposed to be one of the best protected Russian infrastructures.
Putin, always informed about the events in the annexed peninsula and for whom the bridge over the Kerch Strait is a personal project, has called a meeting of the Security Council for Monday.
On Saturday, the president ordered the Federal Security Service to strengthen infrastructure and protection created a government commission to clarify the circumstances of a truck explosion in the automotive part of the facility.
The detonation in turn caused a large fire in a tank train on the railway part of the bridge, according to the official story.
Not the Kremlin neither the Investigative Committee nor the National Counter-Terrorism Agency have yet accused Ukraine of the “incident”in which at least three people died.
The Crimean authorities and some Russian lawmakers have indeed targeted Kiev and its security service, as well as Ukrainian media such as Ukrainska Pravda or the Ukrinform agency.
Ukraine, which has never hidden that it wants to attack the bridge, but has admitted that it would be difficult, celebrated the explosion with sarcasmbut he did not admit paternity.
Zelenski, jokes about the explosion at night with a message of meteorological content: today it was “cloudy in the Crimea”, but also “hot”.
“This is a future without occupants. All over our territory, especially in the Crimea,” he stressed.
Impact on military logistics
What is already clear is that the transit capacity of the bridge over the Kerch Strait, the only one connecting the annexed Ukrainian peninsula with Russia, has been decreasedas the governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksionov, admitted.
“Until further notice traffic on the automobile part of the Crimean bridge Only light vehicles will be allowed. The railway line will function normally, “he wrote.
The crossing of buses and heavy goods vehicles will be carried out by the Lavrenti ferry, which had to be specially shipped from the occupied Ukrainian port of Mariupol.
Despite the alternative transport of heavy material, transit has slowed down by sea.
The Russian Defense Ministry assured Saturday that supplies to troops in the south, particularly in the Zaporizhia, Krivoy Rog and Mykolaiv triangle, it was secured through the “earth corridor.” and partly with maritime transport “.
Moscow refers to the connection between Russia and the annexed territories to the east and especially to the south, such as the spit of land on the shores of the Azov Sea, and Kherson, where kyiv troops liberated more than 1,170 square kilometers in their counter-offensive. , according to the Southern Command.
This logistical path is however much more exposed from the fighting.
Western analysts believe that while the damage to the Crimean bridge will not affect the course of the war, it will have at least a temporary impact on Russian logistics.
British intelligence recalled that the level crossing of the Crimean bridge “played an important role moving heavy military vehicles to the southern front during the “Russian invasion”, so “any major disruption will most likely have a significant impact on Russia’s already strained ability to support its forces” in this Ukrainian area.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), in turn, said the explosion “will not permanently disrupt critical land lines of communication with Crimea, but its consequences are likely to increase friction for a long time in Russian logistics.
Source: EFE, AFP and AP
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Source: Clarin
