A soldier repairs an underground drone at a Ukrainian military position and a former Russian military position, on Ukrainian-controlled territory on August 18, 2024, in Kursk, Russia. Ukrainian forces operating in Russia’s Kursk Region have destroyed a second key bridge, the Ukrainian Air Force commander said, as they tried to advance deeper into Russia.
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Ukrainian forces say they have destroyed a second strategically important bridge in Russia’s Kursk region as Kyiv continues its offensive, while Moscow has yet to respond forcefully to the ambitious cross-border operation.
As many as 5,000 Ukrainian troops are involved in the incursion into Russian territory that began nearly two weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal reported. report. Kyiv claims to have taken control of 82 settlements in the area covering 1,150 square kilometres (444 square miles) since the border offensive began.
Ukrainian forces have focused a number of attacks on key transport and fuel infrastructure in Kursk, aimed at making it difficult for Russia to provide resources and supplies to its troops fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Last Friday, Ukraine said its forces had destroyed a key bridge over the Seym River in Kursk, which was believed to be used to transport equipment to the front line. Russian officials confirmed the attack and said the destruction of the bridge would hamper further efforts to evacuate thousands of citizens from Kursk.
People are evacuated from border settlements to safe areas as clashes between Russian and Ukrainian troops continue in the Kursk region, Russia on August 17, 2024. The Russian Emergencies Ministry is carrying out the evacuation with the help of Russian Railways and volunteer organizations.
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On Saturday night, Ukrainian forces attack a Russian oil depot in Rostov region supplying oil to the Russian army. The Ukrainian General Staff commented on the attack that “measures to weaken the military and economic potential of the Russian Federation continue”.
On Sunday, the Ukrainian air force said it had destroyed a second bridge in Kursk, which Russia used to supply its army. Aerial footage posted on social media The footage reportedly shows the explosion blowing a large hole in the bridge in Zvannoe. CNBC was unable to independently verify the footage.
“One more bridge is missing,” Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, commented on Telegram.
He added in comments translated by NBC News that the Ukrainian air force “continues to deprive the enemy of its logistical capabilities with precision air strikes, which significantly affects the course of the fighting.”
Ukrainian servicemen operate a Soviet-made T-72 tank in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, on August 12, 2024, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Russia has yet to mount a strong counterattack against the Ukrainian invasion, and even Russian military bloggers have criticized the military for failing to anticipate the invasion and reacting slowly to it.
Defense analysts say the Ukrainian offensive on Kursk continues to force Russia to redeploy forces from elsewhere on the battlefield, and analysts at the Institute for the Study of War note that it is likely that “further phases of fighting in Russian territory will require more Russian manpower and material resources in the region.”
ISW analysts added on Sunday that Russia’s redeployment to Kursk had allowed its forces to slow Ukraine’s initial rapid advances in the area and begin to curb the extent of Ukraine’s offensive.
However, they stressed, “containment is only the first and possibly the least resource-intensive phase of Russia’s response at Kursk.”
A Ukrainian military vehicle drives from the direction of the border with Russia carrying blindfolded men wearing Russian military uniforms, in the Sumy region, on August 13, 2024, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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“Russian forces are likely to launch a coordinated counter-offensive effort to regain territory in Kursk Oblast. [region] that Ukrainian forces have seized, although it is too early to assess when Russian forces will fully halt Ukrainian advances in Kursk Oblast and take the initiative on the battlefield to conduct such an effort,” ISW said.
“A future Russian counteroffensive effort will likely require Russia to commit even more manpower, equipment, and supplies to Kursk,” ISW added, noting that the exact level of elements needed for sustained counteroffensives to push Ukrainian forces back across the border will depend on how well Kyiv’s military defends its positions in Russia.
‘War potential’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Ukraine’s main goal is to destroy “Russian war potential” and create a “buffer zone” to prevent Russian attacks on its border areas.
“Now our main task in general defensive operations is: to destroy as much of Russia’s war potential as possible and conduct maximum counter-offensive actions. This includes creating a buffer zone on the territory of the aggressor – our operation in the Kursk region,” Zelenskyy said in his night speech.
“Any damage done to the Russian military, the Russian state, its military-industrial complex and its economy helps prevent further war and brings us closer to a just end to this aggression – a just peace for Ukraine,” he added.
A pickup truck with Ukrainian soldiers on the back moves towards the border with Russia on August 16, 2024 in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. The fighting in Kursk Oblast began on August 6, 2024, when the Ukrainian Armed Forces crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border near the city of Sudzha and began advancing deep into Russian territory, and within days took control of dozens of settlements in the Kursk region.
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The Ukrainian president said he had been briefed on the situation in Kursk by Army Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and implied that arming Ukrainian units operating in the Russian sector was proving to be a challenge.
He also called on Western allies to deliver weapons and ammunition pledged in military aid packages to Ukraine as quickly as possible.
“Our guys are doing very well on all fronts. However, we need faster supplies from our partners. We really demand this. There are no holidays in war. There must be timely decisions, as well as logistics for the announced aid packages,” Zelenskyy said.
