Antonivka Railway Bridge
{{use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
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|image= Antonov railway bridge in Kherson 5.jpg
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|caption= Antonivka Railway Bridge
|coordinates={{Coord|46.6754|N|32.797|E|region:UK_type:landmark |display=inline,title}}
|carries= Kherson–Kerch railway line
|crosses=Dnieper
|locale=Kherson, Kherson Oblast, Ukraine
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The Antonivka Railway Bridge ({{langx|uk|Антонівський залізничний міст|Antonivskyi zaliznychnyi mist}}) was a single-track railway bridge over the Dnieper, in the Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine. It connected rail networks in Ukraine on either side of Dnieper. The Kherson–Kerch Railway line ran over the bridge. The bridge was destroyed after the retreat of Russian troops in November 2022.{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1590941097571688448?s=20 |title=Tweet from OSINTtechnical |date=11 November 2022 |quote=Footage has been circling telegram showing the Russians dropping the Kherson rail bridge over the Dnipro. |work=twitter.com |access-date=2023-06-26}}
Geographical location
The bridge is located at kilometre 43.5 of the river{{cite web |url=https://ukrris.com.ua/hydraulics/bridges/item.php?ID=556 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161212193326/https://ukrris.com.ua/hydraulics/bridges/item.php?ID=556 |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 December 2016 |title=Die Antoniwka-Eisenbahnbrücke auf der Webseite des Fluss-Information-Service der ukrainischen Wasserstraßen |trans-title=The Antonivka railway bridge on the Ukrainian Waterways River Information Service website |work=ukrris.com.ua |access-date=13 April 2018 |lang=uk}} near the confluence of the Inhulets and the Dnieper and six kilometres east of the urban settlement of Antonivka, in Kherson, after which it was named.
History
The construction of the bridge began in 1939, but with the beginning of the German-Soviet war it was interrupted after the first pillars had been installed. The Germans built a railway bridge some distance downstream, which was destroyed during the war.
A railway engineering regiment familiar with overcoming water barriers was commissioned in 1949 to build the nearly one kilometre-long strategic bridge. The railway bridge was put into operation on 12 December 1954.{{cite web |url=http://www.andigu.ru/ligoe-mned96nic/%D0%90%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82 |title=Article on the bridge (Page no longer available, determined in October 2022. Search in web archives.) |work=andigu.ru |access-date=13 April 2018 |lang=ru }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web |url=http://mycity.kherson.ua/avtory-ag/zaharov1/kherson-mecht.html |title=Antoniwka-Eisenbahnbrücke auf mycity.kherson.ua |trans-title=Antonivka railway bridge on mycity.kherson.ua |quote=12 декабря 1954 года состоялось торжественное открытие движения по новому мосту. |trans-quote=On 12 December 1954, the grand opening of traffic on the new bridge took place. |work=mycity.kherson.ua |access-date=13 April 2018 |lang=ru}}
In the course of the Russian attack on Ukraine beginning in 2022, the bridge became strategically important as a route for Russian troops heading west. After the bridge had fallen into Russian hands during the first days of the war, it was made impassable by Ukrainian air raids during the summer of 2022.{{cite web |url=https://www.ukrinform.de/rubric-ato/3563983-antoniwkabrucke-erneut-angegriffen.html |title=Antoniwka-Brücke erneut angegriffen |trans-title=Antonivka Bridge attacked again |date=3 September 2023 |quote=In der Region Cherson wurde die Antoniwka-Eisenbahnbrücke erneut getroffen. |trans-quote=The Antoniwka railway bridge was hit again in the Cherson region. |website=www.ukrinform.de |access-date=11 November 2022}} The bridge was completely destroyed in November 2022 during the withdrawal of Russian troops from the right bank of the Dnieper, as was the nearby Antonivka Road Bridge.{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1591001587472019457 |title=Tweet from bayraktar_1love |date=11 November 2022 |quote=Russian sources also claim that in addition to Antonovsky bridge, the Antonovsky railway bridge, which is located slightly upstream, was also blown up |work=twitter.com |access-date=11 November 2022}}