Ukraine appeared to have blown up a number of key bridges in the Kursk region over the weekend as its troops pressed on with a daring incursion into Russia that Kyiv now says was aimed at creating a buffer zone to stop attacks across the border.
Ukraine’s air force reported Sunday that a second bridge was destroyed in the Kursk region, saying it “deprives the enemy of its logistical capabilities” and “significantly affects the course of hostilities.”
“Minus one more bridge,” said the country’s air force chief, Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk, sharing a video of what appears to be a strike on one of the ends of the span.
NBC News was able to geolocate the video to the village of Zvannoye on the Seim River in the Kursk region. That comes after Oleshchuk released a video Friday of an airstrike that cut a bridge in two.
Acting Kursk Gov. Alexei Smirnov confirmed the bridge attack in a post on his Telegram channel. “As a result of an attack from Ukraine, a road bridge across the Seim River in the Glushkovsky district was destroyed,” the Russian lawmaker said Friday.
Destroying the bridges over the Seim River could be a crucial step in disrupting supply lines to Russian forces trying to stop the Ukrainian advance in Kursk.
Kyiv says its forces are still advancing, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday on X that his forces had seized over 480 square miles of Russian territory in the surprise assault launched two weeks ago, which has shaken up the dynamics of the war and posed a new challenge to the Kremlin. Zelenskyy added that Ukraine also controls 92 settlements inside Russia.
It appears to have taken Russia completely off guard after months focused on a push in Ukraine’s east and the rest of the 600-mile front line.
Russia's defense ministry said its forces seized another settlement in the embattled Donetsk region Monday, where military observers have raised the alarm over Ukraine's position in key towns like Pokrovsk and Toretsk.
Local authorities there launched the mandatory evacuation of families with children from Pokrovsk on Monday.
Ukrainian officials had hinted at a number of motivations for the surprise offensive, including shifting Russian attention from the east, but Zelenskyy revealed Sunday what he said was the main goal of the operation in Kursk.
“It is now our primary task in defensive operations overall: to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. “This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory — our operation in the Kursk region.”
The comment was his first official explanation for the operation, after days of speculation by military analysts about what objectives Ukraine might be pursuing in its risky assault.
The idea of creating a “buffer zone” was first voiced by Russian President Vladimir Putin after Moscow launched its own offensive on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region in May, meant to protect the very border regions Ukraine has since swept into.
Instead, it now appears to be Zelenskyy who is pursuing a “buffer zone” to prevent Russian attacks on Ukrainian towns and villages across the border.
Putin has vowed to “squeeze out” the Ukrainians but faced growing questions over his response to the crisis. He is visiting Azerbaijan for a two-day state visit to discuss “strategic partnership and allied relations” between the two countries, according to the Kremlin, in a likely effort to project an image of stability.
For months before Ukraine's surprise offensive, the Kremlin had pushed for peace talks while it held the battlefield initiative.
But on Monday, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov ruled out negotiations for the time being after what he called Kyiv's “gamble” in Kursk, state news agency Tass reported. Moscow’s foreign ministry on Sunday denied a Washington Post report that the Kursk attack had derailed indirect talks with Kyiv for a landmark deal to halt strikes on critical infrastructure.
Zelenskyy, emboldened by the advances on Russian territory, also doled out criticism for his Western partners.
“There is a need for faster delivery of supplies from our partners,” he said. “We strongly ask for this. There are no vacations in war. Decisions are needed, as is timely logistics for the announced aid packages. I especially address this to the United States, the United Kingdom and France.”
A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told NBC News the U.K.’s support for Ukraine is “unwavering,” with further lethal aid accelerated for Kyiv.
