1 articles · Updated · Institute for the Study of War · Aug 4
Summary
Geolocated footage posted Aug. 2 showed a Russian MLRS strike heavily damaging the Cherivkovsky Bridge over the Kazennyi Torets River in eastern Slovyansk, disrupting a route linking the city to the H-20 highway and Kramatorsk.
Russian milbloggers said the bridge was a major Ukrainian supply route and one of only 3 Slovyansk bridges able to carry heavy vehicles, fitting a wider campaign to choke logistics into the Fortress Belt.
ISW said Russia is replicating parts of its 2025 battlefield air interdiction campaign, using drones, missiles and increasingly glide bombs to hit bridges, locomotives and rear hubs around Slovyansk and Kramatorsk.
The strikes appear aimed at setting conditions for future offensives against Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, though ISW assessed Russian forces are still unlikely to advance quickly through those cities in the near term.