(Kyiv) Kyiv said on Sunday it had destroyed a second strategic bridge in the Russian region of Kursk, where its troops have been conducting an unprecedented offensive for 12 days, at a time when the Russian army says it is continuing its push into eastern Ukraine, towards the logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
On August 6, the Ukrainian army attacked the Kursk border region, seizing, according to Kyiv, 82 localities and 1,150 square kilometers of territory in an assault that surprised Moscow, moving for the first time in a massive and prolonged manner the clashes into Russian territory.
In recent days, the Ukrainian army has said it is anchoring its positions in this Russian region, while gradually advancing, “exactly as we planned,” according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Moscow, for its part, repeated on Sunday that it was “repelling” the Ukrainian attacks by sending reinforcements and inflicting heavy losses on its adversary.
Questions remain about Kyiv’s intentions in the short and medium term.
Ukrainian authorities have vowed that the aim of the offensive was not to “occupy” part of Russian territory but, according to them, to put pressure on the Russian army and thus force Moscow to enter into “fair” negotiations, while Russia still occupies almost 20% of Ukraine.
The time has therefore come for the continuation of this unprecedented operation.
PHOTO EVGENIY MALOLETKA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ukrainian servicemen ride a tank after returning from Russia near the border in Sumy region, Ukraine, August 17.
On Sunday, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk welcomed the destruction of a second important bridge for the Russian army, two days after a first similar claim.
“The air force continues to deprive the enemy of its logistical capabilities through precision airstrikes,” he said, posting a video of the attack on Telegram.
The official did not specify when the strike took place, but it appears to have hit a bridge over the Seim River, about 15 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border.
Russian military bloggers, who have been following the fighting in real time, shared photos dated Saturday showing what appears to be the damaged bridge, saying the destruction would restrict Russian forces’ ability to maneuver in the area.
The hostilities have already forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate on both sides of the border and at least a dozen people have been killed, according to Russian authorities.
IMAGE RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY, PROVIDED BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this image taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on August 18, Russian soldiers fire a Giatsint-S self-propelled gun toward Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in the Russian-Ukrainian border area of the Kursk region, Russia.
Oil depot on fire
In parallel with its offensive, Ukraine is still seeking to disrupt the supply mechanism of Moscow’s forces, deeper into Russian soil, in retaliation for the daily attacks against its territory since February 2022.
It struck an oil depot in the Rostov region in southern Russia with explosive drones on the night of Saturday to Sunday.
According to the account given by the regional governor, Vasily Golubev, “the air defenses repelled [l’]drone attack”. “Following the fall of debris on the territory of industrial storage facilities [dans la ville de] Proletarsk, a fire has broken out.
Videos posted on social media showed thick black smoke and flames coming from the site.
This facility “stored oil and oil products” necessary “for the needs” of the Russian army, justified the Ukrainian forces, who confirmed the attack.
Pokrovsk in Russia’s sights
While the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region attracts much attention, the majority of fighting continues to take place in the Ukrainian Donbass, where Russian troops have the advantage over outnumbered Ukrainian forces.
On Sunday, Russia claimed the capture of a new town, that of Svyrydonivka, around fifteen kilometres from the town of Pokrovsk, a real logistical hub for the Ukrainian army.
The town, which had a population of 61,000 before the Russian invasion, is on an important route to the Ukrainian strongholds of Chassiv Yar and Kostiantynivka, which Moscow would like to capture.
This rapid progress since the capture of Ocheretyne in early May is a sign of unabated pressure on the eastern front, despite the unprecedented advance of Ukrainian forces into Russian territory.