ISW explains why Russia avoids talking about Chonhar Bridge attack 

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) shared the information in its latest report.

Analysts believe that the lack of response from Russian military bloggers to the Ukrainian Armed Forces' strike on the Chonhar Bridge is "a notable inflection in Russian reporting on the war in Ukraine." This, according to experts, may be a sign that the Kremlin has ordered the "military bloggers" to refrain from covering certain topics.

On July 29, the Ukrainian Defense Forces announced a successful strike on the Chonhar Bridge on the M-18 highway (Dzhankoi - Melitopol) between the occupied Crimea and the part of the Kherson region temporarily controlled by Russian troops.

Russian media didn't discuss the Ukrainian strike or comments made by Vladimir Saldo, the head of the occupation administration in Kherson region, about intercepting Ukrainian Storm Shadow cruise missiles during the bridge attack. However, experts noted that Russian bloggers responded to the June 22 strike on the Chonhar Bridge with general outrage and concern.

"Russian milbloggers routinely comment on both successful and allegedly unsuccessful Ukrainian strikes on Russian logistics," the report says.

ISW has previously assessed that some Russian "military bloggers" may shape their coverage of the war in Ukraine in a way more favorable to the Kremlin's narrative out of fear of punishment by the Kremlin.

However, experts point out that a general fear of Kremlin punishment would hardly lead to such an almost universal lack of coverage of an important event, and it is more likely that the reason for this was a specific instruction from the Kremlin not to cover disruptions in critical GLOCs.

• On the night of June 22, Russian occupying forces reported an explosion on the Chonhar Bridge near the temporarily occupied Crimea. 

• On July 29, the Ukrainian Defense Forces successfully attacked the Chonhar Bridge.