Ukraine says it hit a railway bridge to Crimea, seeking to isolate the Russian-held peninsula

Ukraine said Tuesday its forces struck a railway bridge, a power plant and other key infrastructure targets in Crimea as Kyiv’s military seeks to isolate the vital Russian-held peninsula in the latest stage of the 4-year-old war.The drone attacks added to the woes on the Black Sea peninsula, where Russian authorities have had to suspend gasoline sales to civilians as Ukraine has intensified its recent campaign to disrupt supply lines and the electrical grid at the height of the summer tourist season.The peninsula was seized by force and illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.Ukraine’s increasing use of long-range strikes has highlighted its ability to inflict painful damage on Russia and put added pressure on the Kremlin while Moscow’s advances recently have ground to a near halt, Western analysts and officials say.Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said last week that his forces are “isolating Crimea with drones.”“It looks like in the nearest time, Crimea will become an island.

This could lead to some very unexpected consequences for Russians,” Fedorov said on a blogger’s YouTube channel.Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had been warned that Ukraine aimed to disrupt energy supplies and Russia’s tourism industry.He didn’t say who gave the warning.Ukrainian drones “coming in a huge stream” seek to “destabilize” Russian society, Putin said.Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Putin on Tuesday that officials were considering suspending diesel fuel exports to protect the country’s motorists, adding to ongoing bans on the export of jet fuel and gasoline, according to the Tass news agency.

Novak also said scheduled maintenance at refineries had been postponed.Ukraine also has hit targets near to the Kremlin in Moscow and in St.Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city this month.Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said drones struck an oil storage depot at the Kerch thermal power plant in eastern Crimea...