Ukraine struck the Crimean bridge with American ATACMS long-range missiles

The New York Times conducted a large-scale investigation into the military cooperation between the US and Ukraine after the full-scale Russian invasion. The journalists found out many interesting points.

In particular, the publication found out that last summer Ukraine secretly carried out a third attack on the Crimean Bridge, but it was unsuccessful.

"Ukraine damaged the Crimean bridge with long-range ATACMS missiles," the NYT investigation claims. The journalists added that the operation was carried out as part of the Lunar Hail campaign, which was jointly developed by the Ukrainians and the Americans.

This operation included strikes on Russian infrastructure in occupied Crimea. And although strikes on the Crimean Bridge were one of the red lines for the US, they eventually agreed to it.

The plan was for the ATACMS to hit vulnerable sections of the bridge and for the naval drones to explode near the bridge supports, but the Russians had reinforced the supports. The Ukrainian military then proposed attacking with ATACMS missiles only. American officials objected, arguing that the missiles would not be effective, so they had to wait or abandon the strike.

Eventually, the Americans gave in and in mid-August 2024, the Ukrainian military struck the bridge with ATACMS. Journalists noted that this planned strike caused minimal damage to the facility.

After the failed strike, one US military official said that "sometimes they have to try and fail to see that we are right."

The NYT added that in addition to the Crimean Bridge, Operation Lunar Hail included strikes on Russian warships, aircraft, command posts, weapons depots, and technical facilities. These attacks were successful, as Russian facilities were either destroyed or moved to the mainland.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces have already struck the Crimean Bridge several times. The first strike was in early October 2022. As a result of the strike, rail cars with fuel caught fire and two spans of the automobile part of the bridge partially collapsed.

The second time the bridge was hit was in the summer of 2023. Then one span was destroyed and another was damaged.