Ukraine has destroyed a critical bridge necessary for Russia to supply its soldiers occupying the nation's south. At the same time, Russia bombarded various regions in Ukraine with rocket and artillery fire.

The Ukrainian military attacked the Antonivskyi Bridge across the Dnieper River late Tuesday, according to Kirill Stremousov, the deputy director of the Moscow-appointed administration for the Kherson region.

He said that although the bridge was still standing, its surface was riddled with holes, preventing vehicles from crossing.

The 1,400-meter bridge was severely damaged by Ukrainian artillery last week when it was struck multiple times. It was closed to trucks but remained open to passenger vehicles until Tuesday evening when a strike began.

Stremousov stated that Ukrainian soldiers deployed US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to attack the bridge. It was not possible to independently verify the assertion.

The bridge is the primary crossing of the Dnieper River in the district of Kherson. The only alternative is a dam at the Kakhovka hydropower plant, which also came under Ukrainian fire last week but has remained open to traffic.

In the face of repeated Ukrainian strikes, it would be difficult for the Russian military to continue feeding its men in the region if the bridges were destroyed.

Russian troops quickly overran the Kherson region immediately north of the 2014-annexed Crimean Peninsula early in the invasion. They have withstood Ukrainian counterattacks but have held their ground for the most part.

Most Russian forces are hampered in the war in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland of the Donbas, where they have achieved sluggish progress against fierce Ukrainian resistance. The Ukrainian attacks on the bridge in Kherson occur at the same time.

According to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, Russian soldiers continued artillery assault in the eastern Donetsk area, hitting towns and villages.

Kyrylenko reported that shelling in Bakhmut, a crucial city on the front line of the Russian advance, damaged a hotel and inflicted injuries. A rescue mission was in progress.

According to a U.S. research tank, the Russians have captured a small amount of territory northeast of Bakhmut amidst Moscow's effort to seize complete control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk areas.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces are unlikely to capture substantial new land in Ukraine "before the early autumn,"