The reopening of a bridge in the Kherson Region was delayed due to renewed attacks by Kiev's forces.
Russian forces are constructing a pontoon bridge across the Dnepr River in Kherson Region in southern Ukraine amid renewed shelling from Kiev's forces, Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the local administration, told TASS on Monday.
The bridge will be used as a backup for the damaged Antonovsky bridge, which is a strategically important site. The pontoon crossing will consist of barges that will not sink even if a Ukrainian shell is struck, Stremousov explained.
He noted that this will be a single pontoon that people will be able to drive through.
The re-opening of the Antonovsky bridge was supposed to take place on Wednesday but was delayed after Ukrainian forces renewed their attempts to destroy it on Sunday night. The attack struck equipment brought to the site to repair damage from previous artillery strikes, such as a concrete mixer and a temporary shack, and has created new gaps in the bridge's structure, Stremousov said.
The official claims that the bridge hasn't suffered any critical damage and has described the incident as nothing terrible. He stated that the planned reopening of the bridge for traffic is only slightly delayed.
According to the Ukrainian media, the attack was carried out with US-supplied HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems.
The Antonovsky bridge is a strategic link between the Russian-controlled city of Kherson and the rest of southern Ukraine. The bridge has been closed since Kiev s forces attempted to destroy the crossing several weeks ago.