Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday said that the daring military incursion into Russia’s Kursk region aims to create a buffer zone to prevent further attacks by Moscow across the border.
It was the first time Zelenskiy clearly stated the aim of the operation that began on Aug. 6. Previously, he had said the operation aimed to protect communities in the bordering Sumy region from constant shelling.
“It is now our primary task in defensive operations overall: to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions. This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory — our operation in the Kursk region,” he said in his nightly address.
Photo: EPA-EFE
This weekend, Ukraine destroyed a key bridge in the region and struck a second one nearby, disrupting supply lines as it pressed the incursion, officials said.
Pro-Kremlin military bloggers acknowledged the destruction of the first bridge on the Seim River near the town of Glushkovo would impede deliveries of supplies to Russian forces repelling Kyiv’s incursion, although Moscow could still use pontoons and smaller bridges.
Ukrainian air force chief, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, on Friday released a video of an airstrike that cut the bridge in two.
Less than two days later, Ukrainian troops hit a second bridge in Russia, Oleshchuk and Russian regional Governor Alexei Smirnov said.
As of Sunday morning, there were no officials giving the exact location of the second bridge attack, but Russian Telegram channels claimed that a second bridge over the Seim, in the village of Zvannoe, had been struck.
According to Russia’s Mash news site, the attacks left only one intact bridge in the area. The Associated Press could not immediately verify these claims. If confirmed, the Ukrainian strikes would further complicate Moscow’s attempts to replenish its forces and evacuate civilians.
In his remarks on creating a buffer zone, Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces “achieved good and much-needed results.”
Analysts say that although Ukraine could try to consolidate its gains inside Russia, it would be risky, given Kyiv’s limited resources, because its own supply lines extending deep into Kursk would be vulnerable.
The incursion has proven Ukraine’s ability to seize the initiative and has boosted its morale, which was sapped by a failed counteroffensive last summer and months of grinding Russian gains in the eastern Donbas region.
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin said while visiting China in May that Moscow’s offensive that month in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region was aimed at creating a buffer zone there.
That offensive opened a new front and displaced thousands of Ukrainians. The attacks were a response to Ukrainian shelling of Russia’s Belgorod region, Putin said.
“I have said publicly that if it continues, we will be forced to create a security zone, a sanitary zone,” he said. “That’s what we are doing.”
Ukraine’s move into Kursk resembled its lightning operation from September 2022, led by Syrskyi, in which its forces reclaimed control of the northeastern Kharkiv region after taking advantage of Russian personnel shortages and a lack of field fortifications.
On Saturday, Zelenskiy urged Kyiv’s allies to lift remaining restrictions on using Western weapons to attack targets deeper in Russia, including in Kursk, saying his troops could deprive Moscow “of any ability to advance and cause destruction” if granted sufficient long-range capabilities.
“It is crucial that our partners remove barriers that hinder us from weakening Russian positions in the way this war demands... The bravery of our soldiers and the resilience of our combat brigades compensate for the lack of essential decisions from our partners,” Zelenskiy said on X.
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