Ukraine Uses U.S. Weapons To Destroy Russian Supply Bridge – When Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened this week to target new regions in Ukraine unless the West stops supplying weapons to Ukraine, it came after Ukrainian troops used U.S.-supplied HIMARS weapons systems to destroy a strategic bridge used by the Russian military in Kherson.
Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday that the American-supplied rockets systems were used to destroy a Russian ammunition depot last week, as well as artillery pieces and various other military equipment across the region. Following strikes on the Antonivskyi Bridge last week, additional strikes reportedly occurred late on Tuesday and resulted in the deaths of 51 Russian servicemembers.
Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of Russia’s Kherson region administration, confirmed that the strike took place and that while the bridge is technically still standing, there are large holes across it that will stop military vehicles from crossing.
It demonstrates the power of the HIMARS long-range rocket systems sent by the United States and also helps Ukraine cut off Russia’s vital weapons and ammunition supply to the region.
The strike comes days after Ukrainian troops began advancing “step by step” into occupied Kherson. British defense officials reported over the weekend how fighting in the region had intensified and that Russian supply lines to the west of the Dnieper River were “increasingly at risk.”
A British intelligence update revealed how, as of July 22, the bridge was open to “some traffic” – but the latest strike means that trucks and military vehicles can no longer cross the 1.4km bridge.
Watch the Latest Strike
Video footage shared on Telegram this week shows the latest strike taking place.
Military analyst Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, republished the videos on Twitter this week and noted that the strikes were likely conducted using HIMARS.
In the minute-long clip, recorded at night, a blast can be seen far into the distance. The blast is followed by several more, and as the explosion lights up the sky, shrapnel can be seen flying into the air.
A Russian-language Telegram account shared the video, noting that the strike was achieved with “bull’s eye” precision thanks to the use of HIMARS.
Additional footage of the strike, which appears to have been recorded by a security camera, shows the same explosions from a different angle.
Ukraine targeted the Antonovskiy bridge in Kherson again tonight presumably with HIMARS. https://t.co/t9d0TovXkIhttps://t.co/eQTAq2xRVw pic.twitter.com/nlYHUZYMEi
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) July 27, 2022
In response to the strike, Russian military officials reportedly established a pontoon as a temporary replacement and introduced ferry crossings to assist with the movement of traffic, troops, and supplies.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
