[Goose]

We often hear references to everybody's desire to see the destruction of the Kerch Bridge. That bridge carries a railway link and a road link from Russia proper into Crimea. Getting rid of that would be great. However, it is also true that the city of Melitopol contains a road and rail link to Russia proper via the "land bridge" to Rostov-on-Don. This link is far easier for Russia to use than the Kerch Bridge because it is much nearer the major population centers of Russia. There is literally nothing between Rostov-on-Don and the Kerch Bridge. For that reason, Melitopol serves a similar function in the south to Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast. That is why it is a prime objective for Ukraine. However, it is much tougher nut than Kupiansk and it will be a while before it is a realistic immediate objective. It is also true that Ukrainian partisans blew up an important bridge on the rail line from Melitopol toward Crimea. I assume that has been fixed but I don't know that.

[Goose]

We often hear references to everybody's desire to see the destruction of the Kerch Bridge. That bridge carries a railway link and a road link from Russia proper into Crimea. Getting rid of that would be great. However, it is also true that the city of Melitopol contains a road and rail link to Russia proper via the "land bridge" to Rostov-on-Don. This link is far easier for Russia to use than the Kerch Bridge because it is much nearer the major population centers of Russia. There is literally nothing between Rostov-on-Don and the Kerch Bridge. For that reason, Melitopol serves a similar function in the south to Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast. That is why it is a prime objective for Ukraine. However, it is much tougher nut than Kupiansk and it will be a while before it is a realistic immediate objective. It is also true that Ukrainian partisans blew up an important bridge on the rail line from Melitopol toward Crimea. I assume that has been fixed but I don't know that.