The Ukraine conflict is expected to persist for a considerable time, as per the assessment of a senior US intelligence official.
Avril Haines, the head of national intelligence, suggested that Vladimir Putin perceives current domestic and global trends as advantageous to his interests, indicating a probable continuation of his efforts in Ukraine.
“Putin’s increasingly aggressive tactics against Ukraine, such as strikes on Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure, are intended to impress Ukraine that continuing to fight will only increase the damage to Ukraine and offer no plausible path to victory,” she said.
“These aggressive tactics are likely to continue and the war is unlikely to end anytime soon.”
Europe’s longest bridge, the Kerch Strait Bridge, connects Russia to the Crimean city of Kerch. Following its illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia has relied on this bridge as the only direct road link between the mainland and the peninsula. Constructed with separate road and railway sections, and fortified with concrete stilts, the bridge has proven resilient to destruction, despite Ukraine’s concentrated efforts.
On 17 July 2023, Ukraine launched a daring attack using two suicide sea drones, causing damage to a span of the road bridge. The attack killed two civilians and injured another, prompting a temporary block of vehicle traffic.
“The girl was injured,” Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region, said in a message on the Telegram messaging app. “The hardest thing is that her parents died, dad and mum.
Despite these efforts, the design of the Kerch Bridge has made it difficult to completely destroy. As military analysts observe, while individual spans can be damaged, the overall structural integrity of the bridge remains intact. The bridge’s concrete stilts are identified as potential focal points for military strikes due to the extended repair time they would necessitate.
Russia’s recent gains in the Avdiivka region and ongoing pressure on Ukrainian defensive lines highlight the urgency for Ukraine to receive the long-awaited package of US military assistance. Reports of US-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) missiles being used in strikes against Crimea have surfaced, with claims of Ukrainian attacks on the peninsula using these advanced weapons. These missiles, which have a significantly longer range than previous versions, put high-value targets within Ukraine’s reach.
Ukrainian forces have displayed an ability to adapt and leverage Western-supplied weaponry, such as ATACMS ,to penetrate Russian air defenses and strike deeper into occupied territories. Long-range ATACMS provided by the US to Ukraine have the potential to make Crimea “militarily worthless” to Russia, according to one military analyst.
Relevant articles:
– Ukraine-Russia war latest: Destruction of Chasiv Yar laid bare in photos – as Russia ‘shifting battlefield focus’ , Sky News, 05/01/2024
– Crimea Rocked by Explosions as Bridge Shut: Reports, Newsweek, 04/30/2024
– Russia makes more gains around Avdiivka as Ukraine awaits US aid, The Guardian, 04/28/2024
– Ukraine’s new ATACMS could make Crimea ‘militarily worthless,’ war expert says, Yahoo News UK, 04/30/2024