Craters on Kherson’s Antonovsky bridge caused by a Ukrainian rocket strike
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Russian forces are continuing to reinforce crossing points over the Dnipro river and have finished building a barge alongside the damaged Antonovskiy bridge in Kherson in Ukraine’s south, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) says.
In its latest intelligence briefing, the MoD said using civilian barges probably provided Russia “additional material and logistics benefits” after losing significant amounts of military bridging equipment and engineering personnel during the war with Ukraine.
“Although the use of heavy barge bridges was almost certainly included in Soviet-era planning for operations in Europe, it is likely this is the first time the Russian military have needed to utilise this type of bridge for decades,” the MoD wrote.
“If the barge bridge sustains damage, it is almost certain Russia will seek to repair or replaced damaged sections quickly, as their forces and crossing points over the river come under increasing pressure in Kherson.”
It comes as Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to warn Russia not to blow up a huge dam that would flood swathes of southern Ukraine, as his forces prepare to push Moscow’s troops from Kherson.
The Ukrainian President said Russian forces had planted explosives inside the huge Nova Kakhovka dam, which holds back an enormous reservoir that supplies southern Ukraine.
“Everyone in the world must act powerfully and quickly to prevent a new Russian terrorist attack. Destroying the dam would mean a large-scale disaster,” he said on Thursday via video link to a meeting of European leaders in Brussels.
Sergei Surovikin, the commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, said earlier in the week that he had information that Kyiv forces were preparing a massive strike on the dam.
Neither side produced evidence to back up their allegations.
Ukrainian forces bombarded Russian positions in the Kherson region yesterday while inching closer to a full assault on one of the first areas Russia captured after the invasion.
