The Ukrainian residents living in the shadow of Antonivka Bridge have become sitting targets for renewed attacks, less than two weeks after the bridge’s collapse, which marked the end of Russian occupation in the only regional capital they had captured.
ANTONIVKA, Ukraine — The collapse of the Antonovsky Bridge earlier this month into the Dnieper River below marked the end of occupation in Kherson, as Russian forces fled the only regional capital they had captured since the start of their full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
With the bridges blown, the Dnieper proves a natural barrier that Ukrainian troops will not cross without taking heavy casualties, and Russia, for now, maintains its grip on the broader Kherson region, including the crucial Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant and the North Crimean Canal, a crucial supply of fresh water for Crimea, which Russian illegally annexed in 2014.
At least six people have been killed by Russian attacks on the town in the past five days, according to the mayor, Serhii Ivashchenko, 42. Ivashchenko said he fears that the bloodshed could get even worse. Sniper fire whizzed by, making clear the Russians on the other side of the river were still in close range.A Ukrainian military checkpoint was previously stationed near the bridge, blocking some drivers. But the checkpoint became a target, Ivashchenko said, forcing the military to move it closer to Kherson city.
Rockets litter the front yards of residents, who leave their homes only to stand in line for humanitarian aid. But aid stations also are being targeted. At a recent food handout attended by the Kherson city mayor, a crowd was forced to lie flat on the ground amid shelling. Before the invasion, Ivashchenko was one of three people helping lead the village, which was once home to about 13,000 people. That population has now shrunk to 3,000, and the other two town leaders have not returned to the town, fearing for their lives. Now Ivashchenko was driving around town helping pass out bags of food.
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