Ukraine updates: Kyiv claims Crimea bridge strike

Ukraine confirmed that it struck and damaged two road bridges connecting Russian-occupied areas in mainland Ukraine with Crimea, including the Chongar bridge, which is important for the Russian military.

The attacks are making it increasingly hard to get on and off the peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014 and is of military importance to Moscow, as well as a popular tourist destination for Russians.

Meanwhile, Russia claimed to have shot down a Ukrainian drone in the Kaluga region, less than 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Moscow.

Here's an overview of some of the main stories concerning Russia's war in Ukraine on Monday, August 7:

Two people killed in Russian shelling of Kharkiv region

Two people were killed in Russian shelling of border areas of the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, officials said.

According to the head of Ukraine's presidential office, Andriy Yermak, two civilians were killed and three others wounded during Russian shelling of the village of Kucherivka.

Russia also hit the city of Kharkiv with a missile, but there were no casualties, Kharkiv region governor Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.

The Ukrainian military has reported increased Russian attacks in the Kharkiv region in recent days. Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that Russian troops were trying to retake positions lost last autumn.

Ukraine says woman killed in Russian shelling of Kherson

A woman was killed early on Monday when Russian forces shelled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, regional officials said.

"A difficult night for Kherson ... The Russian army continued to shell Kherson residents' homes in the central part of the city," governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on the Telegram messaging app. He said the shelling started around midnight and lasted for several hours.

Ukraine recaptured Kherson city and parts of the Kherson region in November after months of Russian occupation, but Russian forces regularly shell the city and surrounding areas from across the Dnipro River.

Ukraine confirms strikes damaged 2 bridges in Crimea

Ukraine said Monday its forces struck and damaged the Chonhar road bridge connecting Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine's Kherson region with Crimea.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine Strategic Communications Directorate confirmed the strike damaged the road surface of the bridge, which lies on a route used by the Russian military to move between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine under its control. The Chonhar bridge was earlier hit in June.

The directorate added Ukrainian strikes had also damaged the smaller Henichesk bridge connecting the city of Henichesk with the northeastern coast of the Crimean peninsula, but provided no further details.

"The enemy launched a missile strike in the area of the Chonhar bridge in the north of Crimea," Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-installed head of Crimea, wrote on Telegram on Sunday.

The attacks are making it increasingly hard to get on and off the peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014 and which is of military importance to Moscow as well as a popular tourist destination for Russians.

Russian Air Force has no decisive operational effect in Ukraine — UK

The British Ministry of Defense said Monday that although the Russian Air Force continues to deploy considerable resources in support of land operations in Ukraine, they are having little decisive operational effect.

Over the summer, Russian tactical combat aircraft have typically carried out over 100 sorties a day, the ministry said in its regular intelligence update.

However, their sorties are almost always restricted to operating over Russian-controlled territory due to the threat from Ukrainian air defenses, it added.

According ministry assessment, Russia has attempted to overcome this issue by increasingly using basic free-fall bombs with range-extending glide attachments, "but they have yet to demonstrate consistent accuracy."

The update added that at the start of Ukraine’s southern counteroffensive from June 2023, Russian attack helicopters proved effective, but in recent weeks "Russia appears to have been less able to generate effective tactical airpower in the south."