Early on the morning of 22 June 2023, Ukrainian Armed Forces struck the Chonhar road bridges between the Crimean Peninsula and Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast.
These bridges service one of two main road supply routes between Crimea and Kherson.
The route over the Chonhar bridges are the most direct route from Russia’s Crimean logistics hub at Dzhankoi and the Zaporizhzhia sector, where Russia is currently defending against a major Ukrainian offensive.
The temporary closure of the route caused vital Russian logistics convoys to take at least 50% longer to reach the front via alternative routes.
Reports indicate that Russian authorities almost certainly constructed a pontoon bridge replacement crossing withing 24 hours of the attack; it is highly likely that crossings are limited to military traffic only.
The speed with which an alternate crossing was constructed indicates how vital this route is to the Russian military efforts in occupied Ukraine.
