Ukraine Confirms Strike on Crimea’s Armiansk Bridge, Destroying 50 Russian Military Vehicles
Ukraine confirmed Thursday that its forces destroyed 50 Russian military vehicles in a devastating strike on the Armiansk bridge, a critical link connecting occupied Crimea to mainland Ukraine. The attack, carried out by the 1st Separate Assault Regiment Da Vinci, paralyzed a key logistical route used by Moscow to resupply forces in the south.
The regiment confirmed that the vehicles struck were loaded with ammunition and fuel bound for use near Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. “The enemy’s important logistical route is completely paralyzed,” the unit said in a statement. “No further assaults on the bridge are needed.”
The strike is the latest in a series of coordinated Ukrainian operations targeting bridges across the Crimean Peninsula. Overnight, explosions were reported across occupied Crimea as Ukraine struck multiple bridge targets simultaneously, including structures near Preobrazhenka, Myrne, and the Perekop-Armiansk highway route.
Commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert Brovdi — known by the call sign Madyar — said Russian military cargo traffic along the R-280 “Novorossiya” highway, which connects Russia with occupied Crimea through Mariupol, Berdiansk, and Melitopol, has fallen by 71 percent over the past two weeks.
“We will isolate Crimea in the near future,” Brovdi said from a command post near the front line in an interview published by Reuters on June 11.
The Ukrainian strikes form part of an evolving campaign to disrupt Russian logistics supplying forces in occupied territories. Bridges in the Kherson Oblast area, including those near the village of Stavky, were also damaged in the overnight operations, according to Volodymyr Saldo, the Russian-installed head of occupied Kherson.
Western allies have watched the campaign with growing attention. The United Kingdom announced separately on June 12 that it would fully phase in its ban on diesel and jet fuel produced from Russian crude oil by January 1, 2027, widening the economic pressure on Moscow. The same day, the International Monetary Fund announced a staff-level agreement that could unlock approximately $690 million in additional funding for Kyiv under its four-year Extended Fund Facility program.
On the diplomatic front, ambassadors from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany met at the Russian foreign ministry in Moscow on June 11, in a Europe-led push for fresh peace talks. Moscow’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that Russia was open to hearing what Europe had to say.
The Armiansk bridge strike represents one of the most significant single blows to Russian logistics in occupied Ukraine in recent months. Military analysts say the disruption to the R-280 highway corridor could force Moscow to reroute supplies through longer, more vulnerable paths — a logistical headache that could slow Russian operations across the southern front.
Ukraine’s campaign to cut off Crimea has accelerated sharply in recent weeks, with drone strikes targeting port infrastructure, fuel depots, and now bridge crossings. Brovdi’s Unmanned Systems Forces have played a central role in the campaign, deploying first-person drones and long-range systems to hit targets deep behind Russian lines.
Separately, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced Wednesday that Russia has been suspended from the world chess governing body after failing to relinquish control of chess federations in five regions of occupied Ukraine. The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld Ukraine’s complaint in March, giving Russia 90 days to comply — a deadline that expired without action.
Ukraine’s parliament meanwhile approved sweeping military reforms on June 12, introducing higher combat pay, fixed terms of service, and new pathways for foreign nationals to serve in the Ukrainian armed forces. Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said the new monthly infantry salary rate is the highest in the world.
As of Thursday evening, there was no immediate comment from the Russian Defense Ministry on the Armiansk bridge strike. Russian state media had not reported on the incident as of publication time.