Ukraine says it hit pontoon bridges in Russia with US-made guns

kyiv, ukraine — 
Ukraine mentioned Wednesday that it had destroyed Russian pontoon bridges with U.S.-made guns to protect its incursion into Russia’s Kursk area, whilst Moscow mentioned its forces had halted Kyiv’s advance there and had won flooring in jap Ukraine.
Kyiv has introduced a string of battlefield successes because it crossed rapidly into the Kursk area on August 6. Moscow has continuously inched ahead in jap Ukraine, pressuring troops worn down by means of 2½ years of combating.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned Ukraine’s army used to be responding to the Russian push by means of strengthening its forces round Pokrovsk, the point of interest of Russian advances in jap Ukraine.
Talking in one in every of his common televised addresses, he additionally instructed Kyiv’s allies to honor commitments to ship munitions to be used by means of the Ukrainian defense force.
“That is elementary for protection,” he mentioned.
Ukraine has carefully guarded its overarching goals within the Kursk area however mentioned it had carved out a buffer zone from a space Russia has used to pound goals in Ukraine with cross-border moves.

Provider individuals of the twenty fourth Mechanized Brigade hearth a 152mm self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions close to Chasiv Yar the city, in Donetsk area, Ukraine, Aug. 20, 2024. (Ukrainian twenty fourth Mechanised Brigade by way of AP)

A video posted by means of Ukrainian particular forces confirmed moves on a number of pontoon crossings within the Kursk area, the place Russia has reported that Ukraine has destroyed no less than 3 bridges over the Seym River because it seeks to carry the captured land.
“The place do Russian pontoon bridges ‘disappear’ within the Kursk area? Operators … correctly spoil them,” Ukraine’s Particular Operations Forces mentioned at the Telegram messenger.
Ukraine’s International Ministry has mentioned Kyiv has made larger territorial good points within the Kursk area than Moscow has made in Ukraine this 12 months. Russia has referred to as the incursion an escalation.
Ukraine smashed throughout the Russian border within the Kursk area on August 6 in an try to drive Moscow to divert troops from the remainder of the entrance, regardless that Russian forces have persisted to advance in fresh days.
Russia took the agreement of Zhelanne, which lies not up to 20 km to the east of the shipping hub Pokrovsk, consistent with the Russian protection ministry.

A Russian Mi-35M helicopter fires towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location on the Russia-Ukraine border house within the Kursk area, Russia, Aug. 21, 2024. (Russian Protection Ministry Press Provider picture by way of AP)

Either side reported being centered by means of main drone assaults. Ukraine mentioned it intercepted 50 of 69 drones introduced by means of Russia; Moscow mentioned its air defenses destroyed 45 drones over Russian territory, together with 11 over the Moscow area.
Reporting again to Moscow, Main Normal Apti Alaudinov, commander of Chechnya’s Akhmat particular forces and the deputy head of the protection ministry’s military-political division, mentioned Russia had stalled the Ukrainian incursion.
“We halted them and began pushing them again,” Alaudinov informed Rossiya state tv. He mentioned Ukrainian forces had been regrouping and may just quickly release a brand new assault, regardless that he gave no additional main points.
Russia has time and again mentioned the Ukrainian offensive has been halted. Ukraine has stored touting good points, pronouncing it has captured 92 settlements over a space of greater than 1,250 sq. km.
The Ukrainian army, which has now not made vital good points by itself soil since overdue 2022, has gotten a miles wanted morale spice up from the incursion.
Roman Kostenko, secretary of the Ukrainian parliament’s nationwide protection committee, mentioned Russia’s precedence remained to seize the Donetsk area in spite of the incursion and that it used to be now not pulling forces from close to Pokrovsk to behave as reinforcements.

FILE – A broken monument to Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin stands in a central sq. within the Kursk area the city Sudzha, Russia, Aug. 16, 2024. This symbol used to be authorized by means of the Ukrainian Protection Ministry sooner than newsletter.

Mykola Bielieskov, a analysis fellow on the Ukrainian Nationwide Institute for Strategic Research, a assume tank in Kyiv, mentioned assaults on bridges and pontoons would lend a hand Ukraine construct a defensive position alongside the river.
“This is a chance to make it extra solid, systemic, able to repel Russian assaults,” he mentioned in remarks on nationwide tv.
Reuters showed that all the strike places of pontoon bridges proven within the video had been on or close to the Seym River within the Kursk area.
The video additionally confirmed drone moves on army vehicles and different places described as a Russian munitions warehouse and an digital conflict complicated within the area. Different places or the date when the video used to be filmed may just now not be independently verified.
One by one, Reuters used to be ready to ensure that no less than one pontoon crossing used to be it appears destroyed.
The Ukrainian remark mentioned U.S.-manufactured HIMARS rocket methods have been used as a part of operations to disrupt Russian logistics within the Kursk area, Kyiv’s first professional remark acknowledging its use of the weapon all over its incursion.
Washington has now not commented immediately on the usage of U.S.-made guns within the Kursk area, whilst pronouncing U.S. insurance policies have now not modified and Ukraine used to be protecting itself from Russia’s ongoing all-out invasion.
Whilst allies have barred Ukraine from accomplishing long-range moves with Western guns inside of Russia, they’ve allowed Kyiv to make use of them to hit border spaces since Russia’s new offensive on Kharkiv area this spring.

Author: OpenAI