The Antonivsy road bridge and the Kherson railway bridge over the Dnipro River were badly damaged in attacks earlier this week and are “probably unusable for heavy military vehicles”, according to a British intelligence report released on Saturday. That could mean Russian soldiers are stuck with limited options for new supplies or weapons to get them there. Both openings have been used by Russian forces in the occupied Black Sea city of Kherson to transport soldiers and war material. Large parts of the region are occupied by Russian soldiers. “The two main road bridges providing access to the enclave of Russian-held territory on the west bank of the Dnipro in the Kherson region are now probably out of use for the purpose of essential military resupply,” the British intelligence briefing said. “On August 10, 2022, Ukrainian precision strikes likely rendered the Dnipro River road crossing at Nova Kakhovka unusable for heavy military vehicles. In recent days, Russia has achieved only superficial repairs to the damaged Antonivsky road bridge, which likely remains structurally compromised.” A fifth of the ground invasion force has reportedly been “destroyed”. REUTERS Russian soldiers may be stuck with limited options for new supplies or weapons to get them.AP Even if Russia were to make repairs to the bridges, they would remain “a key vulnerability,” the report said. “Ground supply for the many thousands of Russian troops on the west bank almost certainly depends on just two ferry crossings,” the British report said. “With their supply chain limited, the size of the stockpile that Russia has been able to build up on the west bank is likely to be a key factor in the force’s endurance.” Ukrainian troops have “destroyed” one-fifth of Russian ground forces in the country, Ukrainian Armed Forces Chief General Valeri Zaluzhnyi told US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley during a telephone call on Saturday. Russia reportedly lost up to 20,000 soldiers in the conflict. Getty Images Western officials estimate that Russia has lost up to 20,000 troops in the conflict, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The Ukrainian government has not released reports of casualties, citing efforts to boost the morale of their country’s fighters. Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on world leaders to restrict visas for Russian citizens and declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. “There must be a guarantee that Russian murderers and state terror drivers will not use Schengen,” Zelensky said in a video clip on Friday. “You cannot destroy the very idea of Europe, our shared European values… You cannot turn Europe into a supermarket where it does not matter who enters.” This week, Latvia’s parliament named Russia a state sponsor of terrorism for violence against civilians in Ukraine, while Estonia approved restrictions on tourist visas for Russian citizens entering the country. On Friday, Kyiv called on other countries to do the same, according to the Wall Street Journal.
