Ukrainian troops advancing steadily in country’s south - Command

That’s according to Natalia Humeniuk, head of the Operational Command South joint press center, who spoke on the air of the national telethon, Ukrinform reports.

"The intense efforts of our troops stun the enemy forces, who are really confused, feeling our pressure and giving way. There is progress, which is slow but very stable, as we are still moving forward in small steps," said Humeniuk.

She also mentioned among the remaining threats to Ukrainian settlements in the area Russian kamikaze drone attacks. The spokesperson noted that the enemy began to use these drones in larger formations of five to nine drones at a time. According to the official, kamikaze drones mainly target infrastructure objects to achieve a psychological effect and cause public tension.

Answering the question of whether the explosion on the Crimean Bridge had an effect on the hostilities in the southern operational zone, Humeniuk said: "The impression is that they are not ready to attack now, because the number of attacks hasn’t increased."

As reported, on the morning of October 8, an explosion and a massive fire were recorded on the Kerch Strait Bridge connecting mainland Russia and the temporarily occupied Crimea. A freight train was seen engulfed in flames on the railway section of the bridge, while part of the bridge collapsed altogether on the motorway part.

The adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podolyak, commenting on the incident, said it was a manifestation of the conflict between the FSB plus private military companies and the Ministry of Defense plus General Staff.

On October 9, there were reports of several kilometers-long traffic jams near the Crimean Bridge. According to local residents, the crossing remains open only for trucks, while all traffic on the bridge goes along a single lane that was not affected by the blast.