Crimea Bridge Damaged in Explosion: Latest Russia-Ukraine War News

KRYVYI RIH, Ukraine — In a war fought on the expanse of steppe in southern and eastern Ukraine, victory or defeat is in large part decided by the logistics of moving men, weaponry, ammunition, fuel and food over vast distances — all of which could become more difficult for the Russian army after the partial destruction of the Kerch Strait Bridge.

The 12-mile span, which now stretches into the Black Sea and is part of a larger Russian military logistics strategy for a large-scale land war, was a key linchpin. The bridge is crucial for tying Russia to the Crimean Peninsula. The peninsula was in turn used as a staging ground for attacks elsewhere within Ukraine.

Since the beginning of summer, Ukraine has concentrated its strikes on supply lines. The Kerch Strait Bridge is a prize that a military force has long coveted, despite publicly hinting at plans to reach the span for months.

Russia has other options for transporting troops to staging zones where they can be reorganized into battle ready units. However, they are more expensive, dangerous, and time-consuming, according to former military officials and Western analysts. Other options include sending trains and trucks via railroads and roads to other occupied areas of Ukraine, or sailingships to the harbors of Crimea.

“The biggest issue is not supplying, the biggest issue is staging,” Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a former Ukrainian defense minister, said in a telephone interview. “They were getting them ready for the battlefield safely in Crimea, forming battlefield units in Crimea and sending them to the frontline.”

Russia can now use roads from Ukraine that run through the occupied cities of Mariupol, Berdyansk and hug the Azov Sea coast, which are out of reach for Ukrainian rocket artillery. According to Mr. Zagorodnyuk, troops would need to form battle-ready units within Russia and travel longer distances in these formations. This is a less efficient way of supplying the frontlines.

These coastal routes are closer than Crimea to Ukrainian positions and are therefore more susceptible to attack. As if to add to these difficulties, Ukraine struck a cargo train with rockets Saturday in Ilovaisk, a city located in the occupied Donetsk region. This was according to Petro Andrushenko (an adviser for the mayor of Mariupol).

“The occupiers now have big problems with supplies from both sides,” from the south in Crimea and from the east via the land borders with Russia, he said.

Railroads, the preferred means of military logistics by the Russian army, have whole units dedicated for rail travel. These units are called Railroad Forces. They do not connect all areas occupied in southeastern Ukraine by the Russians.

The explosion on the Kerch Strait Bridge will affect Russia’s ability to resupply and reinforce units in the southern provinces of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, Rob Lee, a Russian military specialist at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, said in an email. Mr. Lee stated that it was not clear if the Russian military had sufficient ferries to cross Kerch Strait to compensate for the disruption to rail and road traffic.

Jack Watling is a senior research fellow at The Royal United Services Institute in London. He said that Russian logistics would shift towards a rail line to Melitopol, which is much closer to Ukrainian frontlines than Crimea.

The route, he said, is “vulnerable to disruption” by Ukraine’s army. In an interview, Oleksandr Vikul, the military governor for Kryvyi Rih said that Russian resupply efforts could be hampered, particularly for the towns near the front line. These areas have been repeatedly shelled.

“The occupiers managed all supplies for the south over the Crimean bridge,” he said. “Any difficulties for them in these logistics is naturally positive for us.”

Eric Schmitt contributed reporting in Frankfurt, Germany.