With the bombing of a gathering place for Russian soldiers and an important bridge, the Ukrainian army again struck at occupied Melitopol. The city, 75 kilometers behind the front, is the logistical hub for the Russians in southern Ukraine.
The last military action of the Ukrainian army in Melitopol dates back to late Monday evening. It remains unclear what exactly happened to the highway bridge over the Molochna Canal. According to some Russian sources, the bridge was hit by HIMARS precision missiles, while other sources suspect that it was subject to a Ukrainian attack. special forces It was detonated during a covert operation. Pictures taken after the accident seem to indicate that the bridge pillars have given way, causing the road surface to collapse.
Whether using missiles or explosives, the fact that Ukraine has just targeted this bridge is no coincidence: it forms an important link on the M14 highway, which connects Melitopol to Mariupol, as well as the Russian border. For now, Russian tanks and Army vehicles can still take a detour via a local branch of the highway outside the city, though it seems only a matter of time before Ukraine bombs that route as well.
The bridge connecting Melitopol and Konstantinovka in Zaporizhia, occupied by terrorists of the Russian Federation, now looks like this … pic.twitter.com/GwDdmc0u2d
– Max 22🇺🇦 (Maks_NAFO_FELLA) December 13, 2022
On Sunday, a former hotel in Melitopol was hit by HIMARS missiles. According to the Russian state news agency TASS, two people were killed and ten wounded, according to Ukrainian sources the death toll is much higher. The complex is said to have been used as a barracks by the Wagner Group’s Russian mercenary army, and at least two hundred soldiers are said to have been killed or wounded. Eyewitnesses reported ten explosions, although some of them may have been from Russian air defences. Pictures on social media showed a huge fire in the compound, and rescuers were later seen among the rubble and the dead bodies of soldiers.
In parallel with the attack on the bridge and the barracks, the Ukrainian army has also bombed other military and logistical targets in nearby cities, such as Tokmak, Polohi and Vasilievka, in recent days.
Crimea Gate
The strategic military importance of Melitopol cannot be underestimated. The second largest city in Zaporizhia Province, with a population of about 150,000 before the invasion, it is a crossroads between Kherson to the west, Crimea to the south, Zaporizhia to the north and Donbass and Russia to the east. The city’s nickname, which also houses an important industrial center, isn’t “Gateway to Crimea” for nothing.
“Melitopol is the key to all of Russia’s logistics in southern Ukraine,” asserts Major Tom Simwins of the Royal Military Academy in Brussels. “Because the Crimean Bridge is still not fully used for heavy transportation, all military equipment from Russia to Kherson must pass through here. The term ‘strategically important’ for a particular objective is sometimes overused, but in this case it seems really correct.”
According to Simmons, it remains to be seen whether the attacks on Melitopol are one-off incidents or if they will actually form a pattern. We’re not there yet, but if the Ukrainians can deny them the use of Melitopol, the Russians will have a serious problem. There are not many roads in this region and without the free use of the city, the situation in Kherson would become unacceptable for Russia.
offensive
For Ukraine, the city could be an excellent target if the country decided to launch a new offensive from the front in Zaporizhia. Current explosions may be a harbinger. The successful counterattacks that eventually led to the liberation of Kharkiv and western Kherson were also preceded by such an intense preparatory campaign.
Oleksiy Aristovich, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Sunday that Melitopol is key to Russia’s defense of the south. “If Melitopol falls, their entire line of defense will collapse to Chersonesos. Ukrainian forces will be given a direct route to Crimea.”
It remains to be seen if and where this is really a new attack. “This could again be a distraction to draw Russian reinforcements away from other places, and then Ukraine will strike at Luhansk,” Simwins says. On the other hand, the Ukrainian army will have to launch an offensive here anyway if it really wants to liberate the entire territory. ”
On Sunday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that a new offensive was underway, but that the military was waiting for the weather to cool. After a week of temperatures dropping to -10°C, positive temperatures are expected again in the coming weeks, with rain. Only when the ground freezes again will large-scale maneuvers with tanks and artillery be possible again.
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