Thread by @PaxLusitanica

A recent sabotage action appears to have effectively broken the back of the 🇷🇺-controlled 'land bridge to Crimea'. Depending on sources, the destruction of a key railway bridge between Melitopol and Tokmak was attributed to either partisans or 🇺🇦 SOF. 1/5

Due to several villages in the area being named Lyubymivka, there was some initial confusion over the location. But it is almost certainly the steel bridge over the Molochna River at 47.078779, 35.486520 - in fact closer to the town of Svitlodolynske. 2/5

If so, this brazen attack might effectively block any ability by 🇷🇺 to transfer goods between southwestern and southeastern 🇺🇦 by train without using the Crimean Bridge. (Image below based on map by @BruckenRuski - destroyed bridge marked with blue circle.) 3/5

In a recent 🧵, I highlighted how nearby Tokmak is a regional nodal point for 🇷🇺 logistics. Indeed, the entire unelectrified stretch of railway from Novobohdanivka via Tokmak to Chernihivka is vital for moving stuff across the 'land bridge to Crimea'. 4/5

Now, the extent of the damage is unclear and bridges can of course be repaired. But it is also worth noting that 🇷🇺 is already facing issues with flooding in Crimea. Further 🇺🇦 attacks on rail infrastructure in the region could prove highly disruptive. 5/5