A week and a half after the start of its offensive in western Russia, the Ukrainian army has stepped up its attacks in several Russian regions. According to the Ukrainian Air Force on Sunday, another strategically important bridge in the border region of Kursk and the Kavkaz oil depot in the Rostov region were hit. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the offensive is going “exactly as expected.” Nevertheless, he again called for weapons.
“Now we are strengthening our positions,” he said, referring to the offensive. Ukraine is also taking more and more Russian prisoners of war to fill up the fund for the next exchange with Russia. The aim is to bring soldiers and civilians home from Russian captivity. Russian military bloggers summarized the situation in Kursk as stable and tense. The “Rybar” channel confirmed Zelensky’s statements on Telegram that the enemy is consolidating its positions in occupied territory and increasing its forces. According to the report, the Ukrainians are also moving technology and air defense systems to the region.
The target of the latest Ukrainian attack in the Kursk region was apparently a bridge over the Sejm River near the village of Svannoye, about 15 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border. On Saturday, the Russian leadership had already accused Kiev of destroying a strategically important bridge near the combat zone. According to Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov, the bridge was located about eleven kilometers from the border with Ukraine in the Glushkovo district.
- HONEY: ORF Ukraine correspondent Christian Wehrschütz reports live on site about the current situation of the attacks.
“One more bridge less”
Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on Sunday on the online service Telegram: “One more bridge down. The Air Force continues to deprive the enemy of its logistical capabilities with precise air strikes.” A video he added shows an explosion destroying the bridge and leaving a deep gap in the road. According to Russian military bloggers, the destruction of the two bridges limits Russia’s ability to cross the Sejm River in the Glushkovo district.
In addition, an oil depot in the southern Russian region of Rostov was hit in a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. According to local governor Vasily Golubev, falling debris sparked a major fire. The Ukrainian army said it had attacked the Kavkaz oil depot in the Rostov region, which also supplies the Russian army.
The latest Ukrainian drone attacks came during an unprecedented Ukrainian advance in western Russia. On Saturday, President Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian army had managed to further strengthen its positions in the Kursk region. The offensive was going “exactly as expected.” The advance in Kursk had succeeded in “replenishing the exchange reserve for our country,” he wrote, referring to captured Russian soldiers.
More than a thousand square kilometers occupied
The Ukrainian army unexpectedly launched its offensive in the Kursk region on August 6. According to army chief Oleksandr Syrskyj, more than a thousand square kilometers and 82 towns have been captured so far, including the strategically important town of Sudzha, around ten kilometers across the Russian border. An important gas hub belonging to the Russian company Gazprom is located there, which allows Russian gas to be transported to Europe via Ukraine.
According to Kiev, the move is intended, among other things, to persuade Moscow to engage in a “fair negotiation process” in view of the Russian war in Ukraine. The move is Ukraine’s largest cross-border offensive since the start of the Russian war of aggression and the first by a foreign army on Russian soil since the end of World War II.
Despite the success in the Kursk area, which is also intended to give the Ukrainian armed forces a boost, Kiev is under massive pressure in its own country in the Donetsk region. Zelenskyj demanded that the West supply weapons with longer range. The ability of the armed forces to use such weapons against Russia is the most important strategic question of this war, he said. He criticized the Western allies for lacking the necessary decisions. Great Britain, for example, has become slower.
Russian attacks in Ukraine continued unabated over the weekend. On Sunday, the Kiev military administration reported that it had repelled nighttime Russian missile and drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital, including missiles of North Korean design. Moscow reported the capture of another village in Ukraine near the city of Pokrovsk, where an important supply center for Ukrainian troops is located. Army units had “liberated” the village of Sviridonovka in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
According to Russian sources, two people were killed in a Ukrainian attack on Donetsk. This was announced by the Russian-appointed mayor of the city, Alexei Kulemsin.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned of a “deteriorating” situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. IAEA experts on site reported on Saturday that damage had been caused by a “drone with an explosive load,” according to IAEA chief Rafael Grossi.
This article was updated on 18.8.2024 at 18:00 with further statements by President Zelenskyj
