Ukraine says it has struck a second bridge in Russia’s Kursk region after earlier destroying a key bridge nearby less than two weeks into its stunning cross-border incursion.
Footage posted on the Ukrainian air force commander’s Telegram channel showed an attack on a bridge in Zvannoe, Kursk, over the Seym river.
This is the same river over which another key bridge was destroyed by Ukrainian strikes earlier this week. Ukraine’s destruction of infrastructure in the area is believed to be an attempt to hamper Russian supply lines or reinforcements.
Air force commander Lt Gen Mykola Oleshchuk wrote: “Minus one more bridge! The aviation of the air force continues to deprive the enemy of its logistical capabilities with accurate air strikes, which significantly affects the course of hostilities.”
EU expresses concern over reports of Iran supplying ballistic missiles to Russia
The Irish Times view on the war in Ukraine: at another important turning point
German Chancellor says ‘now is time’ for talks between Ukraine and Russia
Latvia and Romania report Russian drone incidents as air barrage around Ukraine intensifies
Russia’s pro-Kremlin military bloggers have acknowledged the destruction of the first bridge, which spanned the Seym River near the town of Glushkovo, will impede deliveries of supplies to forces repelling Ukraine’s incursion, although Moscow could still use pontoons and smaller bridges in the area.
Lieut Gen Oleshchuk on Friday released a video of a Ukrainian air strike that split that bridge in two.
Less than two days later, Ukrainian troops hit a second bridge in Russia, according to Mr Oleshchuk and the Russian regional governor, Alexei Smirnov.
As of Sunday morning, there were no official reports on where exactly the second bridge attack took place. Russian Telegram channels claimed a second bridge over the Seym, in the village of Zvannoe, had been struck.
According to Russia’s Mash news site, the attacks left the area with just one intact bridge. If confirmed, the Ukrainian strikes would further complicate Moscow’s attempts to replenish its forces in Kursk and evacuate civilians.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy says his forces are “strengthening” their positions in the Kursk region. He said his army chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, had reported that Ukrainian troops continued their advance and also took more Russian servicemen as prisoners.
Ukraine says has it repelled a Russian missile attack on Kyiv and claims its forces are “strengthening” their positions in Russia’s Kursk region amid the offensive there.
Agence France-Presse reports that air raid sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital before dawn on Sunday.
“This is the third ballistic missile attack on the capital in August with a clear interval of six days between each attack,” the Kyiv city military administration posted on Telegram after the early morning barrage.
Simultaneous to the missile attack, drones were spotted heading to Kyiv. “All enemy drones were destroyed far outside the city,” it added. No damage or casualties were reported from the attack, which the administration said had “most likely used North Korean ballistic missiles of the KN-23 type”.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog warned on Saturday that the safety situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was “deteriorating” after a nearby drone strike.
Earlier on Saturday, Russia accused Ukraine of dropping an explosive charge on a road near the occupied plant in southern Ukraine.
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said on Sunday that Ukraine had stationed more than 120,000 troops at its border with Belarus and Minsk had deployed nearly a third of its armed forces along the entire border, the Belta state news agency reported.
Mr Lukashenko, a staunch ally of Vladimir Putin, was speaking against the backdrop of a Ukrainian incursion into Russia that began on August 6th when thousands of Kyiv’s troops smashed through Russia’s western border in a major embarrassment for Mr Putin’s top military brass.
“Seeing their aggressive policy, we have introduced there and placed in certain points – in case of war, they would be defence – our military along the entire border,” Belta cited Mr Lukashenko as saying in an interview with Russian state television.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil storage facility in Russia’s southern Rostov region early Sunday morning, sparking a large fuel fire, the local governor said.
Videos published on social media showed thick black smoke and bursts of flames coming from the site of the blaze, which the governor said was in the town of Proletarsk. There were no reported injuries. – Guardian