Friday 17 June 2022 04:10 PM Ukrainian general threatens to destroy £2.7billion 'umbilical cord' bridge ... trends now
A top Ukrainian general this week threatened to destroy a huge bridge that links Russia to the occupied Crimean peninsula using long-range Western weapons.
Major General Dmytro Marchenko said on Wednesday night that Kyiv considered the 745-foot Kerch bridge a legitimate military target in his country's on-going war against Vladimir Putin's invading forces.
Speaking to the the Krym.Realii website, the general - who has been leading Ukraine's defence of the Mykolaiv region in the south - described the £2.7billion bridge as an 'umbilical cord' supplying Russian reinforcements to the south.
When asked what Ukraine's military planned to do with new advanced weapons that Kyiv is urging the West to deliver, he told the publication the bridge would 'be our number one target'.
'We have to tear this umbilical cord to cut off (Russian) reinforcements. As soon as it's done, (Moscow) will panic,' he said.
Ukraine's Major General Dmytro Marchenko said on Wednesday night that Kyiv considered the 745-foot Kerch bridge (pictured, file photo) a legitimate military target in his country's on-going war against Vladimir Putin's invading forces
Ukraine has urged its allies to rush more and better weapons to the country, saying it cannot hold off Russia's more powerful forces without more support. Western weapons have been critical to the embattled nation's surprising success so far.
However, Western countries have been reluctant to send long-range weapons that could be used to attack deeper inside Russian territory, fearing this could drag more countries into an even bigger contract.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 from Ukraine. Construction on the bridge was completed in 2018, and Russia has been using the bridge that crosses the Strait of Kerch to deliver troops and military equipment to the Black Sea region.
When the invasion began eight years later on February 24, 2022, this was used as a launch pad for Russia to attack Ukraine from.
Following Marchenko's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that the bridge was well protected by Russia's 'preventive measures' and safe for passengers to cross.
In response to his comments, Ukraine's military intelligence agency released what appeared to be full blueprints detailing the plans the bridge across 242 pages.
The bridge connects Russia to the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014
Pictured: A screengrab of a page from the blueprints released by Ukraine's special forces on Thursday showing the bridge. The release came after the Kremlin claimed the bridge was defended
Marchenko said he believes that such weapons would help Ukraine win the war by the end of the summer, and that if they arrive sooner it would prevent Russian forces from digging in further and holding onto the territory they have so far captured.
'Perhaps my information is not enough to predict this,' he said. 'But the fact that this will not end quickly is a fact. But then again: they will give us all the weapons that we need, the counteroffensive will probably end by the end of the summer.
He went on to say that never thought his soldiers would be facing down so many Russian enemies, and that a 'point of no return' had been reached on the issue of peace being reached with Russia.
We have already passed the point of no return. It was at the very beginning, when it was possible to stop all this, at the stage of negotiations, but after what they did, we passed the point of no return,' he said.
'And I will tell those who want peace and tranquillity there in any way, it will not be.'
On Friday, the Ukrainian navy claimed it had struck a Russian boat
