You're reading: Strategic bridge allegedly blown up in Russian-occupied Donbas (PHOTOS)

A strategically important bridge on a highway connecting the Russian-occupied cities of Luhansk and Khrustalne (formerly Krasniy Luch) in  Luhansk Oblast was allegedly blown up in the early hours of May 21, according to numerous reports on social media.

Photos thought to have been taken from the scene appeared on social media on May 21. According to users reporting from Khrustalne, the explosion happened at 2.30 a.m. local time.

Commenting on the incident on Facebook, the official account of Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operation, the commanders of which are in charge of all military operations in the Donbas, said the destruction of the bridge “disables and interrupts supplies of ammunition and weapons to Russian terrorist forces.”

Judging from the pictures, the destroyed bridge is the one located near the Russian-occupied village of Ivanivka some 650 kilometers southeast of Kyiv. The new vegetation growth indicates the photographs were taken at this time of year, and the weather conditions match current ones in the Donbas. The most recent Google satellite images of the area taken earlier this year show the bridge to have been intact.

A destroyed bridge located near the occupied village of Ivanivka, pictured on May 21
Photo by Krasniy Luch/Twitter
A destroyed bridge located near the occupied village of Ivanivka, pictured on May 21
Photo by Krasniy Luch/Twitter
A destroyed bridge located near the occupied village of Ivanivka, pictured on May 21
Photo by Krasniy Luch/Twitter
A destroyed bridge located near the occupied village of Ivanivka, pictured on May 21
Photo by Denys Kazanskiy/Twitter
A destroyed bridge located near the occupied village of Ivanivka, pictured on May 21

Twitter users in the area say that as a result of the incident, the H21 road connecting Khrustalne and Luhansk, as well as the railroad line running beneath the bridge, were blocked.

The Kyiv Post could not independently verify the reports. The site is located deep within territory controlled by Russian-backed militant forces, with the nearest point of the front line running at least 50 kilometers northwest, near the Russian-occupied city of Debaltseve.

However,  journalist Denys Kazanskiy claimed sabotage may not have been the cause of the bridge’s destruction.

“As judged from the bridge’s condition, there might not have been a blast,” Kazanskiy wrote on his Twitter page on May 21. “More probably it collapsed because of heavy damage inflicted by armored vehicles and coal trucks.”

At the time of publication, the Kyiv Post could not reach Ukrainian military press representatives for official comments.