Bridge closed in Russia-held Kherson after HIMARS shelling, official says

(Reuters) -Authorities in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Kherson have closed the city’s only bridge across the Dnipro river after it came under fire from U.S.-supplied high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), an official from the Russian-installed administration said on Wednesday.

The Antonivskyi bridge has been closed for civilians but its structural integrity has not suffered from the shelling, Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-imposed Kherson administration, told Interfax.

“Traffic on the bridge is blocked. Indeed, another HIMARS strike was launched during the night,” Stremousov said in remarks shared on his Telegram channel.

“We have provided for all things like this, and in fact there are several ferry crossings,” he added.

He told TASS news agency that a railway bridge upstream had also been damaged by missile strikes but that repair works were under way.

Ukraine is waging a counteroffensive aimed at recapturing the Kherson region from Russia. Nataliya Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukrainian forces, said in a TV interview on Wednesday that the military had taken care not to destroy the bridge.

“I will note that we appreciate everything that is in our country, even when it is under occupation,” she said on Ukraine’s ICTV. “There were strikes, but they were intricate.”

(Reporting by Reuters)