Russia-Ukraine battle stay: key bridges destroyed in Kursk as Ukraine ‘leaves path of destruction’

Ukraine’s lightning offensive into a number of Russian border areas is designed to steer Moscow to interact in “truthful” talks about its battle in Ukraine, an aide to Volodymyr Zelenskiy has mentioned, as Russian forces shut in on the strategic metropolis of Pokrovsk in Donetsk area.

“We have to inflict important tactical defeats on Russia,” the Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “Within the Kursk area, we clearly see how the navy device is objectively used to persuade the Russian Federation to enter into a good negotiation course of.

“We’ve confirmed, efficient technique of coercion. Along with financial and diplomatic ones … we have to inflict important tactical defeats on Russia.”

Podolyak made his feedback because it appeared that Ukraine had largely reduce off a big space of Glushovsky district of Kursk.

Is Ukraine utilizing western missiles inside Russia?

Peter Beaumont

Russia has accused Nato and the west extra broadly of aiding the Ukrainian incursion, together with by allowing using western-supplied tools. However British officers mentioned Ukraine was entitled beneath worldwide legislation to make use of British-donated tools in operations, together with inside Russia.

“There was no change in UK authorities coverage; beneath article 51 of the UN constitution, Ukraine has a transparent proper of self-defence towards Russia’s unlawful assaults, [and] that doesn’t preclude operations inside Russia,” the Ministry of Defence mentioned.

It seems, nonetheless, there was no change within the UK’s refusal to permit Ukraine to make use of British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles towards targets inside Russia, suggesting a fragile balancing act.

The US up to now has additionally deemed the incursion a protecting transfer during which it’s applicable for Kyiv to make use of US tools, officers in Washington mentioned. However they expressed worries about issues as Ukrainian troops pushed additional into enemy territory.

One US official, talking on situation of anonymity, informed Reuters that if Ukraine began taking Russian villages and different non-military targets utilizing US weapons and automobiles, it might be seen as stretching the boundaries Washington has imposed, exactly to keep away from any notion of a direct Nato-Russia battle.

Ukraine has mentioned that one of many goals of its present incursion into Russia is to counter artillery and missile hearth into Ukraine and create a buffer zone.

Reporters from the Related Press say that, on a visit via Kursk organised by the Ukrainian authorities, they witnessed a “path of destruction”.

They report:

A path of destruction lies within the path that Ukrainian forces carved on their dangerous incursion into Russia, blasting via the border and ultimately into the city of Sudzha.

Artillery hearth has blown chunks out of a statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin that stands in a central sq. of the Russian city, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned Thursday was totally beneath his troops’ management. The home windows of an administrative constructing are blasted out, and its vibrant yellow facade is scorched and pockmarked with bullet holes.

Ukrainian forces have overrun one Russian settlement after one other within the shock operation that Kyiv hopes will change the dynamic of the two-and-a-half-year-old battle.

Russia’s navy has up to now struggled to mount an efficient response to the assault on its Kursk area, the most important on the nation since World Warfare II. Sudzha, which is 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border, is the most important city to fall to Ukraine’s troops for the reason that incursion started Aug. 6.

Proof of Ukraine’s lightning march traces the roads to the city. On grass plagued by particles lies an indication blasted with bullets that has arrows in two instructions: Ukraine to the left and Russia to proper. A burned-out tank stands by the aspect of a street.

Yesterday, two key bridges had been destroyed in Russia’s Kursk area on the Seim river.

Now, Moscow says Ukraine seemingly used missiles provided by the US.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian international ministry, mentioned on the Telegram messaging app:

For the primary time, the Kursk area was hit by Western-made rocket launchers, in all probability American HIMARS.

Because of the assault on the bridge over the Seym River within the Glushkovo district, it was utterly destroyed, and volunteers who had been helping the evacuated civilian inhabitants had been killed.

The US, which has mentioned it can’t permit Russian president Vladimir Putin to win the battle he launched in February 2022, up to now deems the shock incursion a protecting transfer that justifies using US weaponry, officers in Washington mentioned.

Hey, we’re restarting our rolling protection of the Russia-Ukraine battle.

Moscow claims western-made missiles had been used within the destruction of two key bridges within the Kursk area, as Ukraine continues its incursion into Russia because it bids to alter the course of the two-and-a-half 12 months battle.

Russia’s international ministry mentioned Ukraine had seemingly used US-made HIMARS to destroy a bridge over the Seym river, killing volunteers attempting to evacuate civilians.

Extra on that shortly. In different developments:

• Army authorities within the jap Ukrainian metropolis of Pokrovsk urged civilians to hurry up their evacuation on Friday as a result of the Russian military was rapidly closing in on what has been one in all Moscow’s key targets for months. Pokrovsk officers mentioned in a Telegram submit that Russian troops had been “advancing at a quick tempo. With each passing day there’s much less and fewer time to gather private belongings and go away for safer areas.” Pokrovsk is one in all Ukraine’s major defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub within the jap Donetsk area. Its seize would compromise Ukraine’s defensive talents and provide routes and produce Russia nearer than ever to its acknowledged intention of capturing the entire area.

• Ukraine’s lightning offensive into a number of Russian border areas is designed to steer Moscow to interact in “truthful” talks about its battle in Ukraine, an aide to Volodymyr Zelenskiy mentioned on Friday. “We have to inflict important tactical defeats on Russia,” the Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “Within the Kursk area, we clearly see how the navy device is objectively used to persuade the Russian Federation to enter into a good negotiation course of.”

• Ukraine’s military chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, mentioned on Friday that Kyiv’s forces had been advancing between one and three kilometres in some areas in Russia’s Kursk area. Ukraine has mentioned it has taken management of 82 settlements over an space of 1,150 sq km (444 sq miles) within the area after it launched a serious cross-border assault on 6 August. Briefing President Volodymyr Zelenskiy through video hyperlink, Syrskyi reported preventing within the space of Malaya Loknya, some 11.5km from the Ukrainian border.

• It appeared that Ukraine had largely reduce off a big space of Glushovsky district of Kursk and Russian troops there after blowing up two vital bridges on the Seim river. A mass evacuation is beneath approach within the Glushkov district, dwelling to twenty,000 individuals, and the destruction of 1 bridge had hindered their evacuation, the Russian information company Tass reported.

• Later, Russia’s international ministry mentioned Ukraine had used western rockets, seemingly US-made Himars, to destroy one bridge, killing volunteers attempting to evacuate civilians. “For the primary time, the Kursk area was hit by western-made rocket launchers, in all probability American Himars,” Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian international ministry, mentioned late on Friday on Telegram. “Because of the assault on the bridge over the Seim River within the Glushkovo district, it was utterly destroyed, and volunteers who had been helping the evacuated civilian inhabitants had been killed.” The account couldn’t instantly be verified.

• Italy’s ambassador to Moscow defended media “independence” on Friday after Russian authorities summoned her over an Italian tv report within the embattled Kursk area, the international ministry mentioned. Cecilia Piccioni confronted a “robust protest” over the Italian broadcaster RAI’s reporting staff, which “illegally entered Russia to cowl the legal terrorist assault by Ukrainian troopers towards the Kursk area”, the Russian international ministry mentioned in an announcement. Piccioni defined through the assembly that RAI, “and specifically the editorial groups, plan their actions in a completely free and impartial approach”, an Italian international ministry spokesman informed Agence France-Presse.

• Financial sanctions imposed by the West on Russia will stay in place for many years, even when there’s a peaceable settlement in Ukraine, a senior Russian international ministry official mentioned on Friday. Russia turned probably the most sanctioned nation by the west after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, surpassing Iran and North Korea. “This can be a story for many years to come back. Regardless of the developments and outcomes of a peaceable settlement in Ukraine, it’s, the truth is, solely a pretext,” mentioned Dmitry Birichevsky, head of the financial cooperation division on the international ministry.

• Russia added no less than 9 extra individuals linked to late opposition chief Alexei Navalny to its blacklist of “terrorists and extremists” on Friday, precisely six months after he died in jail. Amongst these listed had been Navalny’s former spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh and the chair of his Anti-Corruption Basis, Maria Pevchikh, in keeping with the web site of Russian monetary monitoring service Rosfinmonitoring.

• Greater than 200 automobiles that fell foul of London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) have been despatched to Ukraine to help the nation’s battle effort, regardless of preliminary authorized considerations over the plan. Transport for London mentioned on Friday that 330 automobiles had been given the inexperienced mild to be despatched to Ukraine beneath the Ulez car scrappage scheme. Greater than 200 are already within the jap European nation.