“One less bridge”. The images –

The geopolitical picture in Europe (and beyond) is constantly evolving. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, after the start of the offensive, struck another bridge in the Russian region of Kursk, in an attempt to hinder the activities of Moscow’s forces in the area. This was reported by the Ukrainian Air Force. “One bridge less. The air forces continue to deprive the enemy of its logistical capabilities through precision air strikes,” said Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshuk, posting a video of the attack on Telegram.

Commander of Ukrainian Air Force Mykola Oleshchuk shared footage of the destruction of another bridge over river Seim in the Kursk region. This has a significant impact on enemy logistics in the bridgehead. pic.twitter.com/LPJjUfgEuN

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) August 18, 2024

Russia, meanwhile, claims that Ukrainian forces have launched attacks on 30 settlements in the Russian region of Belgorod, south of the Kursk region where Kiev forces launched an unexpected incursion last week. The governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, confirmed that the Ukrainian attacks have caused the wounding of at least four civilians and extensive damage to buildings and energy infrastructure in the region. Ukraine has formed a powerful group of Polish mercenaries to attack the Russian region of Kursk, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with the TV channel «Rossiya 1».

“There were no non-professional fighters in the offensive against the Kursk region. They were recruited from all over the contact line, they were people who had already fought in the war, mostly, the rest were retrained. Mercenaries, Poles and so on: they formed a very powerful force,” Lukashenko said. The Belarusian leader then called on the parties to sit down at the negotiating table again. “We need to sit down at the negotiating table and discuss. But if more episodes like the one in Kursk happen, there will be an escalation that will end with the destruction of Ukraine,” he continued. “Let’s sit down at the negotiating table and finish this war: neither the Ukrainian people, nor the Russians, nor the Belarusians need it. We need to sit down at the negotiating table, the immediate question is where to start. The right thing to do is to start from where we concluded in Istanbul,” he concluded.