Ukraine targets Russia bridges in move to Moscow counteroffensive in Kursk

Ukrainian forces have begun targeting key Russian transportation routes in the Kursk region in a move to block Moscow from resupplying troops as Ukraine looks to create a “buffer zone” between it and Russia.

As Kyiv’s incursion entered its second week, reports surfaced Monday suggesting that Ukraine had struck a third, and potentially the final, usable bridge in Russia’s Kursk region.

According to local news outlet Kyiv Independent, which cited comments made Monday by an official from the Russian Investigative Committee, a bridge near the Karyzh village over the Seim River had been damaged by Ukrainian forces. 

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Digital could not verify the extent of the damage caused to the bridge.

The news came after multiple reports over the weekend said two other bridges had been damaged or made inoperable in Zvannoye, just over four miles east from Karyzh, as well as Glushkovo, which sits another five miles east along the Seym River – all of which are in the Kursk region.

Ukrainian defense officials have not yet commented on the operations surrounding the bridge strikes, though reports have said damage to the bridges has stopped or stymied Russia’s ability to transport heavy machinery across the river as it looks to oust Ukrainian troops. 

It is unclear how the bridge strikes have affected Russian moves to redeploy troops to the Kursk region as Ukrainian forces continue to advance. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy inspects bunkers, firing ranges, and anti-tank and armored personnel carrier trenches during a visit to the Chernihiv Oblast in Ukraine on April 5, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy has been tight-lipped on the overall goal of the Kursk operation, but some have theorized it is an attempt to divide Russia’s war efforts and force Moscow to draw troops away from the front lines in Ukraine.

Reporting by the Wall Street Journal on Saturday said some 5,000 Russian troops had been called in large part from Ukraine’s Donetsk region to Kursk between Aug. 6 –13. 

A satellite image shows a bridge collapsed over the Seym River in the Glushkovo district, Russia, following a Ukrainian strike, Aug. 17, 2024. (Planet Labs Inc./Handout via Reuters)

Despite President Vladimir Putin’s determination to squash the Ukrainian incursion – which Zelenskyy said was done to make Moscow “feel” the repercussions of its war – Ukrainian troops appear to still be making advances in the Russian region. 

“Russian redeployments have allowed Russian forces to slow Ukraine’s rapid gains in Kursk Oblast and start containing the extent of the Ukrainian incursion, but containment is only the first and likely least resource-intensive phase of the Russian response in Kursk Oblast,” said the Institute for the Study of War in a Sunday assessment. 

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“Although it is too early to assess when Russian forces will stop Ukrainian advances in Kursk Oblast completely and seize the battlefield initiative to launch such an effort,” the assessment added. “This likely future Russian counteroffensive effort will very likely require Russia to commit even more manpower, equipment, and material to Kursk Oblast.”

The Wall Street Journal cited a source familiar with Kyiv’s push in Kursk and said some 6,000 Ukrainian troops are currently in the Russian region, though it is believed that Moscow would need to dedicate some 20,000 soldiers to recapture its territory. 

In an address to the nation Sunday, Zelenskyy said, “It is now our primary task in defensive operations overall to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions.”

“This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory – our operation in the Kursk region,” he added. 

Ukrainian soldiers take cover from shelling near the Russian border in Sumy region, Ukraine, Aug. 13, 2024. (Reuters/Viacheslav Ratynskyi/File Photo)

Despite the war effort in Kursk, Ukraine is still anticipating Russian advances in its Donetsk region, particularly around Pokrovsk, where Russian forces continue to push west. 

The city is expected to be engulfed in the brutal battles that have taken place in Eastern Ukraine within the next two weeks, according to comments made by Donetsk administration official Serhii Dobriak to Radio Free Europe.

And Donetsk Gov. Vadym Filashkin reportedly told the Kyiv Independent that a mandatory evacuation for the nearly 5,000 children remaining in the city will likely be issued later this week.

In July, Zelenskyy warned that Russia was “throwing everything they have” into the region after failing again to take Kharkiv.  

Fire at the oil base in Russia’s Proletarsk, Rostov region, following two drone attacks on the morning of Aug. 18, 2024. (Photo provided by East2West)

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Images surfaced on Monday allegedly showing multiple explosions along Russia’s Trans-Siberian railway line,- which has been used to transport arms to Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, reported East2West. 

Though Digital could not confirm what caused the explosions, pro-Ukrainian forces have carried out similar sabotage efforts on Russian targets since the war began. 

Images over the weekend showed that Ukrainian forces struck an oil depot in Russia’s Rostov Oblast, which neighbors Donetsk – a move that nods to Ukraine’s push to hit key Russian targets that perpetuate its cross-border war effort. 

Some have suggested Zelenskyy, who last week said that “Russia must be forced into peace if Putin wants to continue waging war,” may be looking to use his incursion into Russia as a bargaining chip to end Moscow’s deadly war. 

Though a Putin aide on Monday said Moscow was not willing to engage in peace talks “at this stage” following the incursion.