Kyiv destroys a second strategic bridge in Kursk
Ukrainian forces continue to advance into Russia’s Kursk region for the 12th day in a row, announcing the destruction of a second strategic bridge. Meanwhile, the Russian army advanced in eastern Ukraine to the city of Pokrovsk.
Career card or negotiation?
In recent days, the Ukrainian army announced that it was strengthening its positions in Kursk, Russia, making gradual progress “exactly what we expected,” according to the words of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. On the other hand, Moscow reiterated its emphasis on repelling Ukrainian attacks thanks to reinforcements sent to the region, and inflicting heavy losses on the enemy, as reported by Agence France-Presse.
Ukrainian troops train at an undisclosed location amid the outbreak of hostilities with Russia, August 7 (Reuters)
On August 6, the Ukrainian army attacked the Kursk border region, where, according to Kiev, it took control of 82 towns and 1,150 square kilometers of territory in an attack that came as a surprise to Moscow, and thus the transfer of the conflicts to Russian territory for the first time on a large scale. But many questions arise about Kiev’s intentions in the short and medium term.
The Ukrainian authorities emphasize that the aim of the attack is not to “take over” part of the Russian territory, but to put pressure on the Russian army and push it Moscow to engage in “fair” negotiations, at a time when Russia occupies about 20 percent. from Ukraine. So it seems that this unprecedented process is continuing now.
“Strategic” progress.
Ukrainian soldiers near the Ukrainian town of Sumy, August 17 (Reuters)
On Sunday, the Chief of the Ukrainian Air Force Mykola Oleshchuk welcomed the destruction of a second bridge of strategic importance for the Russian army, two days after the same news. He said in a post on the Telegram platform, “The Air Force continues to deprive the enemy of its logistical capabilities thanks to precise air strikes.” Oleshchuk did not clarify when the strike was carried out, which apparently hit a bridge on the Sim River, about 15 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border. Russian blogs that follow the battles published photos dated Saturday that appear to show a bridge that has been hit by a strike, mostly because the destruction will limit the ability Russian forces move in the region.
An elderly woman was evacuated from Russia’s Kursk region, August 17 (EPA)
The battles forced tens of thousands of people to flee from areas on both sides of the border, and led to at least ten deaths, according to Russian authorities. At the same time as its attack, Ukraine is trying to block the supply of Russian forces deep into Russian territory, in response to Moscow’s daily attacks on its territory 2022. In this regard, Ukrainian parades, from Saturday night to Sunday, are carried out. launched an attack on an oil storage facility in the Rostov region in southern Russia, which led to the ignition of fuel and the start of a large fire, according to the governor of the region, Vasily Golubev.
Belarus is preparing
The official Belta news agency reported that the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, said on Sunday that Ukraine had deployed more than 120,000 troops on its border with Belarus, and that Minsk had almost a third of its armed forces. to put in on the whole border.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko (AFP)
Belta quoted Lukashenko as saying, in an interview with Russian state television: “Given what we saw about their aggressive policy, we sent (our forces) and concentrated them in certain points, in anticipation of war, for a protective factor. Our army is along the entire border.” For his part, Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for the Border Guard of Ukraine, told the Ukrainianskaya Pravda agency on Sunday that the situation on the border with Belarus has not changed. .Demchenko said: “As we can see, Lukashenko’s speech does not change either, because he always escalates the situation … to please the terrorist state,” as reported by Reuters. He continued: “We do not see any increase in the number of equipment or personnel in Belarusian units near our borders. “
Fighting for Donbass
While the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk attracts a lot of attention, most of the battles continue in the Donbass region of Ukraine, where the Russian army has an advantage against the forces A less numerous and less well-equipped Ukrainian.
An elderly woman bids farewell to the displaced in the town of Sumy, August 17 (EPA)
On Sunday, Russia declared control of the town of Sviridonivka, about 15 kilometers from the city of Pokrovsk, the important axis in eastern Ukraine, which it has been seeking for several months to reach. The city of Pokrovsk, which before the conflict had a population of about 61 thousand people, is located on a main axis that leads to the two Ukrainian strongholds of Chasev Yar and Kostyantnevka, which Moscow is trying to control. This progress shows continued pressure on the Eastern Front, despite an unprecedented advance by Ukrainian forces into Russian territory.