Ukraine says second Russian bridge destroyed in airstrike

Ukraine says it has destroyed its second strategic bridge in a week as it continues its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

The Ukrainian military on Sunday released aerial footage of the attack on the bridge – believed to span the Seym River in Zvannoe.

Hours later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the purpose of the military offensive on Kursk included creating a “buffer zone” to deter Russian attacks.

Ukraine has been nearly two weeks since the biggest attack on Russian territory since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Minus one more bridge,” Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, posted on social media footage of the airstrike.

“The Ukrainian Air Force continues to deprive the enemy of its logistical capabilities with precision airstrikes, which significantly affects the course of hostilities,” General Oleschuk added.

Video shows a large plume of smoke rising above the bridge and one section of the bridge appears to have been destroyed. It is unclear when the attack occurred.

Earlier this week, Ukraine destroys another bridge over the Seym Rivernear the town of Glushkovo.

That bridge was used by the Kremlin to supply troops.

Military analysts had previously identified three bridges in the area used by Russia to resupply its forces, and they said two had been destroyed or severely damaged, Reuters news agency reported.

Nearly two weeks after Ukrainian troops crossed the border into Russia, it’s clear they plan to stay.

President Zelensky said on Saturday The army is consolidating its positions in Kursk. and further expansion in Russia.

“Our operations in the Kursk region continue to cause damage to the Russian military and the Russian state, its defense industry and its economy,” he said in a speech on Sunday evening.

He declared that “this is not merely about defending Ukraine” and said the aim was to “destroy as much of Russia’s war potential as possible and conduct maximum counter-offensive actions”.

This would include “creating a buffer zone on the territory of the aggressor” to prevent further Russian attacks on Ukraine, he added.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, an adviser to President Zelensky, asserted that Ukraine is not interested in occupying Russia but wants to persuade Russia to enter negotiations.

Moscow called the incursion a major provocation and vowed to retaliate with a “decent response”.

While Ukraine pushes deeper into Russia’s western territory, Russian forces are also making gains in eastern Ukraine and have captured a series of villages in recent weeks.

The incident comes as the head of the UN nuclear watchdog warned that the nuclear safety situation at the Zaporizhzhia power plant in Russian-occupied Ukraine was deteriorating following a drone attack near the site.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said he remained “extremely concerned” and called for “maximum restraint on all sides” to protect the plant.

The agency said the strike’s impact was on a road just outside the facility – near essential sprinkler ponds and about 100m from the only remaining high-voltage power line.

The plant was captured by Russian troops at the beginning of the war and came under repeated attacks, with both sides blaming the other.

Last week, Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other after a fire broke out in one of the plant’s cooling towers.

The IAEA did not say who carried out Saturday’s attack, but the agency’s team based in Zaporizhzhia said the damage appeared to have been caused by a drone carrying explosives.

“The team heard continuous explosions, heavy machine gun fire, rifle fire and artillery fire at various distances from the plant,” the agency said in a statement.

The plant has not produced electricity for more than two years and all six reactors have been frozen since April.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022 and has recently made slow progress in seizing more territory in eastern Ukraine.

However, the country was shocked when Ukrainian troops entered the Kursk region, where they had been consolidating positions for nearly two weeks.

Thousands of Russians have been evacuated from the area.

This is the first time foreign troops have been present on Russian soil since World War II.