Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Ukraine has hit the bridge several times throughout the war, so why has it not been completely destroyed yet?
When armies clash in modern warfare, infrastructure falls fast.
Yet Putin’s prized Kerch Bridge remains standing while surrounding Russian supply lines crumble across occupied Crimea.
But Ukraine has repeatedly hit the bridge, so why have they not destroyed it completely?
Well, Kyiv has its reasons – and the reasons can be traced to an ancient guide on how to fight a war.
A symbolic escape route
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the bridge has lost much of its former strategic value. Russian forces now rely heavily on a land corridor through occupied southern Ukraine to ship heavy military gear.
Major General Vadym Skibitsky, deputy chief of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, addressed the issue at the Yalta European Strategy conference. “It’s really not so strategic an object for the Russian Federation today,” Skibitsky said, according to the Kyiv Post.
Still, the political weight of the massive bridge remains enormous. “For Russia, for Putin, the Kerch Bridge is a symbol of the occupation of Crimea,” Skibitsky emphasized.
But he offered another practical reason to leave it standing. “It’s maybe one of the ways for Russian occupiers to return home.”
A page out of The Art of War
In the ancient text The Art of War by Sun Tzu, it says that when you surround an enemy, you should leave an outlet for the enemy to escape.
According to the text, this does not mean that you should let the enemy escape, but psychologically, it can break the fighting spirit of the enemy.
Rather than forcing the enemy to fight to the death when surrounded, providing an outlet can encourage them to stop fighting because they think there is a road to safety.
The text does then advocate crushing the enemy when the forces start to flee through the alleged safe escape route.
It should be noted, that Skibitsky does not himself say anything about The Art of War when explaining why the bridge is still standing.
Targeting the network
Kyiv has shifted its broader strategy toward dismantling the complex logistical web feeding Moscow’s war effort. The campaign now reaches deep into Russian territory.
Ukrainian intelligence keeps a close watch on factories supplying weapons for the front lines. “It’s not a risk, it’s a real threat,” Skibitsky said regarding Russia’s accelerating missile output.
He revealed that officers have mapped out every step of the manufacturing process. “We absolutely know all enterprises, factories, companies that are involved in the production of such ballistic missiles on the territory of Russia,” Skibitsky stated.
Surprise military targets
The campaign also targets civilian platforms supporting military logistics. Russian e-commerce giants like Wildberries and Ozon have now fallen into the crosshairs of Ukrainian operational planners.
Skibitsky defended targeting those massive shopping networks directly during his remarks. “Wildberries and Ozon and other such centers in the Russian Federation are really involved in the logistics system of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” he said.
By hitting these civilian distribution hubs alongside traditional military targets, Ukraine aims to cripple the supply lines sustaining Russian troops.
