"A Matter Of One Hour": The AFU Cut Off The Supply Of Weapons And Goods Through The "land Bridge" To Crimea
- 29.05.2026, 12:54
The R-280 highway supplies the entire annexed peninsula.
Medium-range drones, which Ukraine has been actively using in recent months, have allowed it to largely control the federal highway R-280 "Novorossiya", also called the "land bridge" to Crimea. It supplies both the annexed peninsula and the occupation troops on the southern front - in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. But now the burned-out wreckage of dozens of trucks lies along the highway.
Massive and effective strikes on Russian supply routes testify to the growing capabilities of Ukrainian drones and a significant increase in their production, thanks to which Kiev is no longer dependent on allied arms supplies, writes Politico. "Since the beginning of spring, medium-range strikes have made it possible to neutralize Russian air defenses in the region, giving us the ability to fly to any places in the temporarily occupied territories," the commander of the 7th Battalion of the "Birds of Magyar" unit with the call sign Topot told the publication. Now getting to "Novorossiya," which runs from Rostov-on-Don through Mariupol and Melitopol to Simferopol and partially runs 100 km from the front line, as well as other highways, is "a matter of one hour for us," Topot added.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) estimates that these strikes, coupled with constant bombing of warehouses, command centers, logistical routes, and air defense systems, are limiting Russia's ability to move troops and equipment to the front. As a result, the pace of Russian troop advances has fallen dramatically, notes the Warsaw-based Center for European Studies. In previous years, offensive operations were significantly stepped up in early spring, but now their absence "may indicate a weakening of Russia's offensive potential due to an increase in the number of successful strikes on its rear areas."
President Vladimir Zelenski said recently that the number of medium-range strikes has doubled since March and quadrupled since February. "It is no longer safe in the enemy's rear," Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov confirmed on Wednesday, announcing an additional 5 billion hryvnia ($113 million) to fund the most effective medium-range drone units.
Social networks are flooded with videos of burned tankers and trucks on Novorossiya, posted both by Ukrainian channels showing drone strikes on them and by Russian drivers complaining that not long ago the highway was safe. Although the footage shows truck traffic continuing on the highway, it has been restricted since last week.
Medium-range drones (30 to 200 km) can now strike all occupied areas of Ukraine and even Russian territory, a commander with the call sign Keith from the 1st Separate Unmanned Systems Force Center told Reuters: "We hit enemy field bases, ammunition depots, air defense systems. These are deep strikes and the number is increasing."
412th Separate Brigade of Unmanned Systems "Nemesis", citing footage of strikes on trucks and tankers, claims a "large-scale hunt" for "military equipment and supplies of the occupiers in their so-called 'deep rear'" in southern Ukraine: "The enemy's attempts to use field and dirt roads for a detour are also doomed to failure - Ukrainian drones successfully detect and destroy targets on any terrain."
ISW states: "In the spring of 2026, Ukrainian forces launched a coordinated operation to cut key supply lines for Russian ground forces and railroad logistics routes in the occupied Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions, which reduces the combat effectiveness of Russian troops and facilitates the advance of Ukrainian forces in the region."
Russian Z-war correspondents complain that the AFU strikes have turned "Novorossiya" into a "road to hell." Because of this in Crimea "there is a threat of shortages of some goods" and restrictions on fuel sales have been imposed, the Rybar channel writes. In addition, "strikes on cargo carriers on the peninsula directly affect the combat capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces on the southern fronts, where the situation is already not cloudless," and also threaten Crimea with disruption of the holiday season, writes "Rybar".
Ukraine's ability to finance the development and production of weapons will now increase: from June, it will begin to receive money from the EU loan for 90 billion euros. This year, 45 billion euros will be allocated, of which 31.8 billion euros will be spent on defense, increasing total spending to a record $100 billion (against the previously projected $64 billion).