kyiv, Ukraine.- Ukraine said Sunday it had destroyed a second strategic bridge in Russia’s Kursk region, where its troops have been carrying out an offensive for 12 days, while the Russian army said it was continuing its advance towards the Pokrovsk logistics hub.
On August 6, the Ukrainian army attacked the Kursk border region, taking control, according to kyiv, of 82 towns and 1,150 square kilometers of territory in an incursion that surprised Moscow and that, for the first time in a massive and prolonged manner, moved the fighting into Russian territory.
In recent days, the Ukrainian army has consolidated its positions in this Russian region, progressively advancing “exactly as we planned” said President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Moscow on Sunday reiterated that it was “repelling” Ukrainian attacks by sending in reinforcements and inflicting significant casualties on its adversary.
Many questions remain about Ukraine’s short- and medium-term intentions. Ukrainian officials say the aim of the offensive is not to “occupy” part of Russian territory, but to put pressure on the enemy army and force Moscow to engage in “fair” negotiations, while Russia still occupies about 20 percent of Ukraine.
On Sunday, Air Force Commander Mikola Oleschuk welcomed the destruction of a second bridge important to the Russian military, two days after a similar claim was made.
“The Air Force continues to deprive the enemy of logistical capabilities through precision air strikes,” he said, posting a video of the attack on Telegram.
The official did not specify when the incident occurred, but it appears to have affected a bridge over the Seim River, about 15 km north of the border.
Fighting in Donbas
Russian military bloggers following the fighting in real time shared photos dated Saturday that appear to show the damaged bridge, saying the damage would limit Russian forces’ ability to maneuver in the area.
The fighting has already forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate on both sides of the border, with at least ten people killed, according to Russian authorities.
In parallel to its offensive, Ukraine continues to try to disrupt supplies to Moscow’s forces on Russian territory, in retaliation for the daily attacks on its own territory since February 2022.
On Saturday night, a drone attack targeted an oil depot in the Rostov region in southern Russia.
According to the account of the regional governor, Vasili Golubev, “air defenses repelled the attack” but “as a result of the falling of debris on the industrial storage facilities in the city of Proletarsk, a fire broke out,” he described.
Videos posted on social media showed black smoke and flames coming from the site.
The facility “stored oil and oil products necessary for the Russian army,” Ukrainian forces said in confirming the attack.
Although the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region is attracting much attention, most of the fighting continues to take place in the Donbas region, where Russian troops have the upper hand against numerically inferior forces.
On Sunday, Russia claimed control of a new town, Sviridonivka, about 15 km from the city of Pokrovsk, an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian army.
The town, which had a population of 61,000 before the Russian invasion, lies on a key route to the Ukrainian strongholds of Chasiv Yar and Kostiantinivka, which Moscow hopes to control.
This rapid advance since the capture of Otsheretine in early May is a sign that Russian pressure remains intense on the eastern front.
The Donetsk region prosecutor’s office reported four civilians killed and four others wounded in several Russian strikes on Sunday.
Further south, in the southern Kherson region, a drone attack on a car late in the afternoon left five people injured, regional sources reported on Telegram.
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