kyiv, Ukraine.- Russian troops defending territory between a river and the border with Ukraine were at risk of being surrounded, military analysts said Monday, after Ukraine bombed bridges that are the only routes for supply or withdrawal.
In their counterattack into Russia, which has been underway for nearly two weeks, Ukrainian troops quickly attacked thin border defenses, seized roads and captured towns, initially pushing deeper into Russian territory.
The bombing of bridges, by contrast, is focused on the territory between the Seym River, the border and the area inside Russia that is already controlled by Ukraine, with the potential to trap Russian forces stationed there.
Three bridges extend from the river and are now destroyed or damaged, according to statements released by the Ukrainian Air Force and social media posts by Russian officials and military commentators.
The possible encirclement of its forces in that area poses another challenge to the Russian military, which was caught off guard by Ukraine’s unexpected incursion across the border on August 6.
The operation has injected a new sense of optimism into Ukrainian forces that had been dispirited for months across the war front.
Western analysts and officials say it is too early to tell whether Ukraine will achieve strategic success.
In a speech shown via video overnight Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the aim of the incursion was to form a “neutral zone” inside Russia and along its border, though he offered no details about how much ground his military was seeking to seize.
In the fighting across much of the plains of Russia and Ukraine, the tactic of seeking to trap troops has been central to the armies of both countries.
Being surrounded or trapped against a river is a very feared outcome for soldiers.
It is not known how many Russian soldiers remain in the area between the Seym River and the Ukrainian border.
The territory includes the town of Glushkovo, with a population of about 5,000 people. Glushkovo is considered the next target after Ukrainian troops took control of the Russian town of Sudzha last week.
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