New reports indicate that Ukrainian forces have successfully targeted and destroyed yet another Russian pontoon bridge in the Kursk region. The news has been buoyed by footage circulating on social media showing a Ukrainian aircraft striking a bridge over the Seym river. According to the Telegram channel Shrike News, this marks the destruction of all nine known pontoon crossings by Ukrainian troops.
These recent strikes appear to have utilized High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and come on the heels of earlier operations that took out at least two of the three bridges crossing the Seym River. These infrastructures have been vital for Russian supply lines.
The fighting on the front lines has intensified as Ukraine continues its Kursk offensive, a cross-border initiative that began on August 6 and has reportedly caught Russian forces off guard. This is the first incident of foreign troops claiming Russian territory since World War II, with Ukraine asserting that it has gained more ground in the Kursk region in a matter of days than Russia has throughout Ukraine this year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned in August that Ukraine has control over at least 80 settlements in Kursk. Interestingly, Ukraine has no intention of permanently occupying this territory; rather, it aims to disrupt Russian logistics and protect its own areas from devastating aerial assaults.
Ukrainian attacks have primarily targeted the town of Sudzha, which they claimed to have fully captured last week, as well as the settlement of Korenovo, located northwest of Sudzha. Additionally, Glushkovo and Zvannoye are situated to the southwest of Korenovo, nearer to the Ukrainian border.
General Christopher Cavoli, NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe, recently addressed the situation in Kursk, expressing concern over Russia’s sluggish response to Ukraine’s maneuvers. “Russia has yet to put together an effective reaction to Ukraine’s advance. Their response thus far has been inconsistent and uncoordinated,” he noted during a Council on Foreign Relations event.
Cavoli pointed out the confusion within the Russian military response, stating that while the Ministry of Defense is accountable for operations in Ukraine, it seems unclear who holds responsibility for actions within Russia itself.
Additionally, over the past week, Ukraine has succeeded in stopping Russia’s offensive movement in Pokrovsk and has regained some control of the town of New-York. “In the last six days, the enemy has not gained any ground in the Pokrovsk sector,” remarked Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in a recent CNN interview.