Remember when Ukraine successfully hit a critical Russian bridge three times?

Ukraine has scored a lot of military victories against Russia since Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of his neighbor in February 2022. But few of these wins were as interesting as the strike against the Chonhar bridge in July 2023.

Ukrainian forces claimed they made a successful attack on the all-t00-important Chonhar bridge in Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast. It was news that would have proved vital to Ukraine's then-up-and-coming counteroffensive. This was the second time the bridge had been attacked.

On June 22nd, Russian officials reported that Ukraine struck the Chonhar bridge with four missiles and noted that traffic had to be diverted according to Reuters. First Deputy Chairman of Kherson Regional Council Yuriy Sobolevsky called the June strike "a blow to the military logistics of the occupiers".

Photo Credit: Telegram @SALDO_VGA

"The psychological impact on the occupiers and the occupying power is even more important. There is no place on the territory of Kherson region where they can feel safe," Sobolevsky added in a message on Telegram that was translated by Reuters.

The Strategic Communications Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced in a July 29th Telegram post that Ukrainian forces successfully hit the Chonhar bridge, which connects Crimea with Kherson Oblast according to The New Voice of Ukraine.

"The Defense Forces of Ukraine successfully struck the Chonhar bridge in the morning of 07/29/2023. Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine!" the department wrote in a short message, giving no further details on the strike nor whether or not it destroyed its target. 

Ukrainiska Prava noted the Telegram Channel Crimean Wind reported Russian tourist chatter on the social media platform indicating that the Chonhar bridge was successfully hit based on complaints about detours being imposed due to damage on the bridge.

Ukraine’s attack on Chonhar bridge, and any potential damage resulting from it, had not been independently verified at the time. However, the Russian-appointed Governor of Kherson Oblast Volodymyr Saldo said on July 29th that Kyiv did try to destroy the rail link in the area. 

A separate report from Ukrainska Pravda noted Saldo claimed Ukraine fired as many as 12 Storm Shadow missiles at the rail link but said all of the missiles were destroyed by Russian air defenses, adding fragments “damaged a guard booth and an overhead wire."

Photo Credit: Telegram @SALDO_VGA

Russian military bloggers were curiously quiet about Saldo’s comments as well as the possible strike against the Chonhar bridge, and the Washington-based think tank The Institute for the Study of War suggested it could have been because they had orders from the Kremlin not to discuss the strike. 

“Russian milbloggers responded to a Ukrainian strike on the Chonhar bridge on June 22 with widespread outrage and concern,” the think tank said in a July 30th update, adding that milbloggers (military bloggers) routinely commented on successful and failed attacks on Russian logistics. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @SALDO_VGA

“General fear of Kremlin punishment would not likely result in such near-universal lack of coverage of a dramatic event,” analysts added. It was likely “a Kremlin directive not to cover disruptions to critical [ground line communications] caused this lack of reporting.”

The first attack on the Chonhar bridge was reported on by CNN, which reviewed video evidence posted by Volodymyr Saldo to social media showing damage to the road bridge as well as the neighboring rail bridge.

“It won’t decide any results of the special operation,” Saldo said about the June attack before adding the strike made it more difficult to deliver food and that the alternative route would bring supplies closer to Ukrainian positions, revealing the importance of the strike on Chonhar. 

CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh wrote of the earlier attack on Chonhar that it echoed strikes against the Antonovsky bridge in Kherson, noting those attacks “eventually presaged Russia’s orderly withdrawal from the right side of the banks of the Dnipro River.” 

The rail and road bridges that cross the Chonhar Strait are two critical links because they are just one of only a few crucial crossings between Russian-occupied Crimea and the occupied territories in southern Ukraine according to Reuters. 

“The bridge is one of a handful of access roads to Crimea,” wrote Andrew Osborn and Olzhas Auyezov of Reuters. “Alternative routes require hours-long detours over roads in poor condition.” 

It was thought but some media outlets that if the rail and road links at Chonhar are taken out, it would force Russia to operate longer supply routes through territory closer to Ukrainian positions, as Saldo also pointed out, and it is important to remember that holding up Russian supplies was crucial for Kyiv’s 2023 summer offensive. 

“The Russian military has relied on the Chongar bridge as the principal connection to its forces in the Kherson region, part of which is controlled by Moscow,” The Associated Press wrote in the wake of the Chonhar bridge attack on June 22nd. 

If Ukraine had successfully attacked the Chonhar bridge again in July, then it could have strained Russian logistics at a time when Kyiv’s counter-offensive was making good progress. However, it did not make enough of a difference to be the deciding factor in an offensive that ultimately failed.

On August 6th, Russian sources reported that the Chonhar bridge was attacked for a third time by Ukraine according to Reuters. "The enemy launched a missile strike in the area of the Chonhar bridge in the north of Crimea," Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea, wrote on Telegram. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @SALDO_VGA

"One hit, part of the missile was hit by air defense," Aksyonov continued, adding that repair work had already begun on the bridge. There have been no further confirmed strikes on the Chonhar bridge since August 2023.