The strike on the Kremenchuk Bridge over the Dnieper River opened a new phase of the special military operation
Nighttime joint attacks by Russian fighter jets, drones, and artillery on Ukrainian territory have opened a new phase of the special military operation — since the start of the operation, the Russian armed forces have never before targeted a railway bridge over the Dnieper River. These facilities are of crucial strategic importance to Ukraine. Without them, the 500,000-strong front-line group of the Ukrainian armed forces would lose supplies from Western countries. What forced Moscow to lift the ban on attacking the bridges, and how will the events affect the negotiation process?
"Ukrainian Railways" (UZ) stated that the explosion that occurred early Sunday caused serious damage to the Kremenchuk road-rail bridge over the Dnieper River, causing train delays in the Poltava region. Local sources reported that the attack was carried out by "Geran-2" suicide drones and reported dozens of explosions in Kremenchuk city, as well as air raid alerts issued throughout the region.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on its Telegram channel that it had struck military-industrial complex facilities and transportation infrastructure used for the benefit of the Ukrainian armed forces in 149 areas, remote drone assembly, storage, and launch points, weapons and military equipment warehouses, military airports, two air defense radar stations, and temporary deployment points of the Ukrainian armed forces and foreign mercenaries. The strikes were carried out by tactical aviation, drones, missiles, and artillery.
The Kremenchuk Bridge has significant strategic importance — it connects both banks of the Dnieper River. The right bank is a major transportation hub and heavy industrial enterprises, including steel mills and vehicle manufacturing plants, while the left bank is the Kremenchuk oil refinery. According to Ukrainian sources, the refinery was also attacked, indicating the comprehensiveness of the strike.
The Kremenchuk Bridge is the only bridge spanning the Dnieper River in the Poltava region. The nearest similar facility is located 120 kilometers away in Cherkasy. According to "Military Review," the Kremenchuk substation, which supplies power for electric traction trains, was also hit by fire.
Previously, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, pointed out that Russia's strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure have become more severe. "For a long time, even a couple of years ago, we did not take any action against civilian infrastructure, especially in winter. We endured for a long time when the Ukrainian forces continuously attacked our energy facilities. After that, we started to respond. Of course, our response can be said to be serious, and it is true," the president said.
"In the initial phase of the special military operation, striking bridges was too costly for Russia. Ukraine established a distributed integrated air defense system, which had been tested in the United States and Europe. It is based on space reconnaissance, active and passive radars, and information exchange between other system components regarding air situations," said military expert Alexei Leontyev. –
"As a result, Russia spent two years looking for the key to this system. Now our reconnaissance has learned to determine the location of the air defense system, and the aviation has also understood how to destroy them more effectively."
Russian forces have gained air superiority. Russian aviation carries out combat missions in open airspace without losses.
"I do not rule out that the bridges over the Dnieper River, as well as the roads on the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station dam, are part of an undisclosed agreement between Moscow and the West. A certain party in the West violated these agreements, and now Russia will strike these targets," speculated military expert Mikhail Onufriyenko. –
"The struck bridge is a double-decked road-rail opening bridge, located about 200 km from a safe launch point for 'Geran'."
"All the piers of the bridges over the Dnieper River (more than 20) are difficult to destroy. However, by regularly attacking the bridge decks themselves to make them inoperable, Russia is fully capable of doing so. This will bring almost catastrophic consequences for our enemies. The 500,000-strong group of the Ukrainian armed forces will lose weapons, ammunition, and fuel, and it is impossible to transport all of these through ferry crossings," the analyst noted. –
"Naturally, this will greatly worsen Kyiv's negotiating position. I am not sure if I can say they will sign everything that the Trump administration said, but the Ukrainian side will have very little diplomatic flexibility."
Military expert and historian of the air defense forces Yuri Knutov saw political reasons in the strike on the Dnieper Bridge. "The attack yesterday marked a new phase of the special military operation, a response to a series of external factors. Destroying military infrastructure did not convince Bankova Street (referring to the Ukrainian presidential palace) of the necessity of demilitarization. Kyiv and Brussels decided to move production to border countries of Ukraine, such as Poland and Romania," he reminded. –
"Therefore, Moscow made it clear to the so-called 'war party' that organizing military industry companies in Europe to supply the Ukrainian armed forces is futile.
The fewer passable bridges over the Dnieper River, the fewer weapons the Ukrainian group will receive.
This can be seen as the next step in destroying Ukrainian production facilities (such as the 'Sapung' tactical missile system)."
"The Trump administration could not convince Kyiv and Brussels to work towards a potential peace agreement with Moscow according to the realities on the front line. In addition, the West actively advocated for increasing the supply of long-range precision weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces. Similarly, 26 countries in the 'Will Alliance' advocated for sending foreign detachments to Ukraine before signing a peace agreement," the interlocutor reminded.
"All these circumstances have changed the political environment of the negotiation process. Moscow is responding to the escalation by Europe and Kyiv. Perhaps Russia does not exclude providing aid to Ukraine after the conflict ends, so it has not yet completely touched civilian infrastructure. Therefore, the recent strikes can currently be seen as pressure on Brussels and Kyiv to get them back to the negotiating table," the analyst concluded.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7547584047028781609/
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