Is The Bridge Next? Outgunned Kyiv Aims At Strategic Targets Behind Russian Lines

They have become a familiar sight in the skies above parts of Russia: long-range enemy drones, buzzing their way to another target.

- Luke Harding

In the biggest Ukrainian onslaught inside Russian territory since Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion two years ago, Ukraine has in recent weeks carried out a series of attacks on Russian oil refineries and ports. On Tuesday it hit a refinery and drone factory in the industrial region of Tatarstan, more than 800 miles from the border.

The Ukrainian spy agency behind these drone strikes has its eye on another target: the 12-mile Kerch bridge connecting occupied Crimea with Russia. Senior officials from Ukraine's HUR military intelligence service indicate it is plotting a third attempt on the bridge, after two previous attempts to blow it up, claiming its destruction is inevitable.

The bridge is a reminder of what Putin sees as one of his greatest political achievements: the peninsula's 2014 "return" to Russia using undercover Russian troops and a sham referendum. For Kyiv, the bridge is a hated symbol of the Kremlin's illegal annexation.

Its destruction would strengthen Ukraine's campaign to liberate Crimea and raise morale on and off the battlefield, where Kyiv's forces are gradually being pushed back.

How any Ukrainian attack would unfold is unclear and there are serious doubts about whether the HUR is capable of pulling off a special operation against such a well defended and obvious target. Russia has taken extensive measures to protect the bridge, strengthening anti-aircraft defences and deploying a "target barge" as a decoy for incoming guided missiles.