'British Storm Shadow missile' hits bridge between Crimea and Russian territory trends now
Ukraine used a British-supplied Storm Shadow missile to hit a key bridge between Crimea and Russian-held parts of the Kherson region in Ukraine, pro-Moscow sources have claimed.
Vladimir Saldo, the Russia-appointed Kherson governor, said the Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles were likely to have been used for the attack, which damaged the road on the Chongar bridge. No casualties have been reported.
The strike comes just two days after the Kremlin warned that it would see the UK as 'full-fledged' participants in the war in Ukraine if the Storm Shadow missiles hit Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Images show a large hole in the bridge, revealing the water below, as well as rubble strewn across the road. The damaged bridge was still standing but the extent of the internal structural damage was not immediately clear.
Saldo vowed: 'There will soon be a very serious answer.' The governor described the attack as 'another senseless action ordered from London by the Kyiv regime.'
Ukraine used a British-supplied Storm Shadow missile to hit a key bridge between Crimea and Russian-held parts of the Kherson region in Ukraine, pro-Moscow sources have claimed. Pictured: A hole in the bridge
Images show a large hole in the bridge, revealing the water below, as well as rubble strewn across the road
The strike comes just two days after the Kremlin warned that it would see the UK as 'full-fledged' participants in the war in Ukraine if the Storm Shadow missiles hit Crimea , which Russia annexed in 2014
'It solves nothing for the results of the special operation. Just to do harm,' Saldo added.
Crimea's governor, Sergey Aksyonov, said specialists were examining the site to determine when traffic over the bridge, which connects Crimea to the Russian-held parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, could resume.
The crossing is the closest link from Crimea to Melitopol and is a key supply route for Vladimir Putin's forces to the disputed peninsula, and vice-versa.
One Russian report referred to the 'barbarous shelling of civilian objects' in describing the bridge attack.
Acting Moscow-appointed supremo of the invaded Kherson region Vladimir Saldo said: 'According to a preliminary assessment, British Storm Shadow missiles were used. The road surface on the bridges was damaged. There are no human casualties.'
Communication between Crimea and Kherson region continues to operate via a backup route, he said.
Alexander Kots, military correspondent of Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper said: 'The enemy has begun to cut off Crimea from the Kherson region.
'Storm Shadow missile strikes [have been made] on the bridge at Chongar - one of the isthmuses connecting the peninsula to the mainland.'
He saw the attack as evidence that Britain was now directly involved in the conflict.
This should entail 'immediate strikes against decision-making centers on the territory of Ukraine', he said.
It comes two days after Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu warned the UK and US they would be seen as 'full-fledged' participants in the Ukraine war if Storm Shadow and HIMARS missiles are used to hit targets in Russia or Crimea.
Shoigu warned he will target 'decision-making centres' in Ukraine - implying he plans to order his military to target Volodymyr Zelensky and his government leaders in Kyiv.
The damaged bridge was still standing but the extent of the internal structural damage was not immediately clear
Vladimir Saldo, the Russia-appointed Kherson governor, said the Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles were likely to have been used for the attack, which damaged the road on the Chongar bridge (pictured). No casualties have been reported
Analysts have said the long-range Storm Shadow (pictured on display in the RAF museum) has been a game changer for the Ukrainians as Kyiv launches its counteroffensive. The Storm Shadow missiles, accurate to beyond 150 miles, allow Ukrainian forces to strike deeper into Russian-held territory than was previously the case
Shoigu said on Tuesday: 'According to our information,
