A Russian suppply line connecting Kherson with Crimea is likely to have been destroyed by a Ukrainian strike, Britain defence chiefs have said.
Ukraine struck the ammunition train, carrying Russian troops, on Monday near the Brylivka railway station in Kherson Oblast.
In their latest intelligence update, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said it was “highly unlikely the rail link connecting Kherson with Crimea remains operational”.
It said Russian forces were likely to repair the railway line within a few days, but it will remain a “vulnerability” for their logistical supply route from Crimea into the Kherson region.
Instead, Russian forces were likely to use a ferry crossing, recently established to replace the damaged Antonovsky Bridge over the Dnipro River in Kherson, “for troop movements and logistical resupply”.
The MoD said there was also likely to be an increase in civilians attempting to flee Kherson and the surrounding area as “hostilities continue and food shortages worsen”.
“This will create pressure on transport routes, likely resulting in measures to control movement.”
Meanwhile, the first ship loaded with Ukrainian grain exports since Russia’s invasion has safely anchored off the Turkish coast.
The vessel, the Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni was at the entrance of the Bosphorus Strait, which connects the Black Sea to world markets, on Tuesday, some 36 hours after leaving the Ukrainian port of Odesa.
The ship, which is carrying 26,527 tonnes of corn to Lebanon, is due to be inspected on Wednesday in Turkey.
The exports from one of the world’s top grain producers are intended to help ease a global food crisis.
Ukraine hopes to export 20 million tonnes of grain held in silos and 40 million tonnes from the harvest now under way, initially from Odesa and nearby Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk.
Russia has called the Razoni’s departure "very positive" news. It has denied responsibility for the food crisis, saying Western sanctions have slowed its exports.
