What did the Storm Shadow strike on a Crimea bridge signal?
A look back at the damage to a link between southern Ukraine and Russian-occupied Crimea, and at the missile attack that interrupted an African peace visit days earlier.
What did it mean when a British-made Storm Shadow missile damaged a bridge between southern Ukraine and Russian-occupied Crimea on 22 June 2023? The strike came during the Ukrainian counteroffensive, and it placed a Western-supplied long-range weapon at the centre of the fighting over the southern approaches to the peninsula.
The bridge connected southern Ukraine with Crimea, so damage to it concerned a crossing between the occupied peninsula and the mainland. The use of a Storm Shadow showed that British-made missiles were now being employed in the campaign.
Six days earlier, on 16 June 2023, a peace mission visit by African officials to Ukraine was interrupted by a Russian missile attack. The Ukrainian Air Force said it had shot down six Kinzhal ballistic missiles, six Kalibr missiles and two reconnaissance drones.
Set side by side, the two episodes show the pattern of that month: diplomatic efforts proceeding while strikes continued on both sides. Ukraine's air defence was reported to be intercepting large salvos, while its forces were hitting infrastructure tied to the occupied south.
