kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has destroyed a key bridge in Russia’s Kursk region and struck a second nearby, less than two weeks into its stunning cross-border incursion, disrupting Russian supply lines and possibly signaling that its troops plan to dig in.
Pro-Kremlin bloggers in the Russian military acknowledged that the destruction of the first bridge, which spanned the Seim River near the town of Glushkovo, would hamper supply lines for Russian forces repelling the Ukrainian incursion, although Moscow could still use smaller pontoons and bridges in the area. The head of the Ukrainian air force, Lieutenant Mykola Oleshchuk, posted a video Friday of a Ukrainian airstrike that cut the bridge in two.
Less than two days later, Ukrainian troops struck a second bridge in Russia, according to Oleshchuk and Russian regional governor Alexei Smirnov.
As of Sunday morning, no official information was available about the exact location of the attack on the second bridge. Russian Telegram channels claimed that a second bridge over the Seim River in the village of Zvannoe was hit.
According to the Russian news site Mash, the attacks left only one bridge intact in the area. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the reports, but if confirmed, the Ukrainian strikes would further complicate Moscow’s attempts to rebuild its forces in Kursk and evacuate civilians.
Glushkovo is located about 12 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border and about 16 kilometers northwest of the main combat zone of Kursk. Zvannoe is located 8 kilometers to the northeast.
Ukraine may try to hold on to ground won by Russia at Kursk
kyiv has remained silent on the scale and intended targets of its lightning offensive into Russia, the largest attack on the country since World War II, which took the Kremlin by surprise and saw dozens of villages and hundreds of prisoners fall into Ukrainian hands.
Ukrainians have been pushing into the Kursk region from several directions, meeting little resistance and spreading chaos and panic. Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, claimed last week that his forces had advanced across 1,000 square kilometers of the Kursk region, although it has not been possible to independently verify how much Ukrainian forces actually control.
But the strikes on the bridges, apparently aimed at thwarting a Russian counterattack at Kursk, could mean that kyiv intends to seek a foothold in the region – or at least signal to Moscow that it is considering doing so.
Analysts say that while Ukraine could try to consolidate its gains in Russia, it would be a risky move given kyiv’s limited resources, as supply lines extending deep into Kursk would be vulnerable to Russian strikes.
The incursion has already boosted Ukraine’s morale, undermined by the failure of a counteroffensive last summer and months of crushing Russian gains in the eastern Donbass region, and demonstrated its ability to seize the initiative.
This is similar to Ukraine’s lightning operation in September 2022, led by Syrskyi, in which his forces regained control of the northeastern Kharkiv region after taking advantage of Russian manpower shortages and a lack of field fortifications.
Zelensky asks for permission to strike deeper into Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday night urged Kiev’s allies to lift remaining restrictions on the use of Western weapons to strike targets deeper in Russia, including Kursk, saying his troops could deprive Moscow “of any ability to advance and cause destruction” if they had sufficient long-range capabilities.
“It is crucial that our partners remove the obstacles that prevent us from weakening Russian positions as this war requires. (…) The bravery of our soldiers and the resilience of our combat brigades compensate for the lack of essential decisions by our partners,” Zelensky said in a message posted on the social platform X.
The Russian Foreign Ministry and pro-Kremlin bloggers have claimed that American-made HIMARS launchers were used to destroy bridges across the Seim River. These claims could not be independently verified.
Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly requested authorization to launch long-range strikes on Russian airbases and other infrastructure used to pound Ukraine’s energy facilities and other civilian targets, including with upgraded Soviet-era “glider bombs” that have ravaged Ukraine’s industrial east in recent months.
Moscow also appears to have stepped up its attacks on kyiv, targeting it with ballistic missiles for the third time this month, according to the head of the city’s military administration on Sunday morning. Serhii Popko said in a Telegram message that the “almost identical” August strikes on the capital “most likely used” KN-23 missiles supplied by North Korea.
According to Popko, a new attempt to target kyiv took place around 7 a.m., this time with Iskander cruise missiles. He added that Ukrainian air defenses shot down all targets fired during the two attacks on the city on Sunday morning.
Fears Grow for Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant
In a separate development, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said the security situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is deteriorating following reports from his team of a drone strike nearby.
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, issued a statement Saturday night calling for “maximum restraint by all parties” after an IAEA team stationed inside the plant reported that an explosive carried by a drone had detonated just outside the plant’s protected area.
According to Mr. Grossi’s statement, the impact site was “close to essential irrigation ponds” and about 100 meters from the only power line supplying the plant. The statement added that the IAEA team on site reported intense military activity in the area over the past week, including near the plant.
kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of responsibility for a series of attacks near the plant since it was seized by Russian forces after the full-scale invasion, including a fire last weekend. Grossi’s statement said the fire caused “considerable damage” but posed no immediate threat to nuclear safety.
Ukraine has repeatedly claimed that Russia was planning an attack and blamed Ukrainian forces. Last summer, Zelensky warned of possible explosives that Moscow had placed on the roof of the nuclear power plant to blackmail Ukraine.
