- Over to Ukraine now.
New overnight, two significant developments
in Russia's war on Ukraine.
Ukraine is now taking responsibility for an attack
on the only bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean
Peninsula.
The full extent of the damage is unknown,
but Ukraine says it will cause logistical issues
for Russian forces who do use that bridge as a major hub
for transporting resources into the territory.
Now, this comes as we learn that Russia is pulling out
of this crucial deal that allows Ukraine to safely export
grain to the rest of the world.
- And joining us now is CNN military analyst
and retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.
I want to kind of start, for people who don't necessarily
understand, the both symbolic and I
think tangible significance of this moment.
What does this attack show you?
CEDRIC LEIGHTON: So the big thing about this,
Phil, is that this is the connection,
this is the most symbolic connection
that Russia has to Crimea.
They built this back when Russia had annexed Crimea.
Putin opened it himself.
He was part of the dedication ceremony.
And this is the place where all the Russian military forces
get their resupply from.
Almost all of their resupply comes this way.
Some of it comes this way.
But for the most part, this is the area
that is really important for the Russian resupply
effort for the entire war in Ukraine,
especially the Southern front.
- So do you feel like this will have a tangible impact in terms
of logistics and resupply?
CEDRIC LEIGHTON: Absolutely.
It will have a significant impact.
And, you know, one of the big things about this
is this is the only link between Crimea and Russia
that actually exists.
It does supply, as I mentioned, all
the military supplies, the fuel, the goods,
all the things they need.
All the Russian forces get this.
It is also the longest bridge in Europe.
It's over 10 miles long for the road portion,
over 11 miles long for the rail portion.
And it does both, of course, rail and road traffic.
Now, when you look at the damage right here,
you can see that this would be a major cause of delays.
That split right there makes it impossible for road traffic
to continue.
And the big thing here with this, Phil,
is that if they can't get this operational,
it's going to really stop the war effort for the Russians.
They're going to have a heck of a time maintaining their
position in the Southern front.
- It's also interesting, I think, in the terms
of the timing, right?
We knew that there was a deadline for the long standing
grain deal, which I think is critical, really,
for the entire world's food supply,
which was supposed to expire.
Russia has already said they are pulling
out even before the expiration.
Do you think that timing is connected?
And what does that mean more broadly?
CEDRIC LEIGHTON: It does. I think it is connected.
And what it means broadly is that all of this
is going to really have a problem when
it comes to stabilizing global food supplies.
With this expiring today and the Russians not renewing it,
we can expect prices to go up not only in parts of the world
like Africa or Asia or even Europe,
but also here in the United States.
Because the global food supply is completely interconnected.
And that's going to have a major impact on everything
that happens here.