Ukraine forces destroy two key bridges in western Kursk as Russian supply lines take a hit

Ukraine has destroyed a key bridge in Russia’s Kursk region and struck a second one nearby, disrupting supply lines as it pressed a stunning cross-border incursion that began on August 6, officials say.

The bridge attacks aimed at thwarting a Russian counter-push in Kursk could mean that Kyiv intends to seek a foothold in the region.

Pro-Kremlin military bloggers acknowledged that the destruction of the first bridge on the Seim River near the town of Glushkovo will impede deliveries of supplies to Russian forces repelling Ukraine’s incursion. However, Moscow could still use pontoons and smaller bridges.

Ukraine’s air force chief, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, on Friday, released a video of an air strike that cut the bridge in two.

Less than two days later, Ukrainian troops hit a second bridge in Russia, according to Oleshchuk and Russian regional Governor Alexei Smirnov.

As of Sunday morning, no officials were giving the exact location of the second bridge attack.

But Russian Telegram channels claimed that a second bridge over the Seim had been struck in the village of Zvannoe.

According to Russia’s Mash news site, the attacks left only one intact bridge in the area.

The Associated Press could not immediately verify these claims.

If confirmed, the Ukrainian strikes would further complicate Moscow’s attempts to replenish its forces in Kursk and evacuate civilians.

Glushkovo is about 12 kilometres north of the Ukrainian border, and approximately 16 kilometres northwest of the main battle zone in Kursk.

Kyiv has said little about the scope and goals of its push into Russia with tanks and other armoured vehicles, the largest attack on the country since World War II, which took the Kremlin by surprise and saw scores of villages and hundreds of prisoners fall into Ukrainian hands.

The Ukrainians drove deep into the Kursk region in several directions, facing little resistance and sowing chaos and panic as tens of thousands of civilians fled the area.

Ukraine’s Commander in Chief, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, claimed last week that his forces had advanced across 1000 square kilometres of the region, although it was not possible to independently verify what exactly Ukrainian forces effectively control.

Analysts say that although Ukraine could try to consolidate its gains inside Russia, it would be risky, given Kyiv’s limited resources, because its supply lines extending deep into Kursk would be vulnerable.

The incursion has proven Ukraine’s ability to seize the initiative and has boosted its morale, which was sapped by a failed counteroffensive last summer and months of grinding Russian gains in the eastern Donbas region.

The move into Kursk resembled Ukraine’s lightning operation from September 2022, led by Syrskyi, in which its forces reclaimed control of the northeastern Kharkiv region after taking advantage of Russian manpower shortages and a lack of field fortifications.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Kyiv’s allies to lift the remaining restrictions on using Western weapons to attack targets deeper in Russia, including in Kursk, saying his troops could deprive Moscow “of any ability to advance and cause destruction” if granted sufficient long-range capabilities.

“It is crucial that our partners remove barriers that hinder us from weakening Russian positions in the way this war demands. The bravery of our soldiers and the resilience of our combat brigades compensate for the lack of essential decisions from our partners,” Zelenskyy said in a post on the social platform X.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry and pro-Kremlin bloggers have alleged that US-made HIMARS launchers have been used to destroy bridges on the Seim.

These claims could not be independently verified.

Ukraine’s leaders have repeatedly sought authorisation for long-range strikes on Russian air bases and other infrastructure used to pummel Ukraine’s energy facilities and other civilian targets, including with retrofitted Soviet-era “glide bombs” that have laid waste to Ukraine’s industrial east in recent months.