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Ukrainian offensive forces in Russia’s Kursk region have destroyed a key bridge and supply route for Moscow, as journalists described a “trail of destruction” left behind after the Kyiv attack.
About 12 days into Russia’s biggest invasion since World War II, Kyiv forces are strengthening their positions in the Kursk region, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
Artillery fire has taken out a piece of a statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin in the town of Sudzha, which is now under the control of Ukrainian forces. Buildings were pockmarked with bullet holes and the streets, which were strewn with debris, were mostly empty when residents retreated to the basements.
Journalists who entered the newly occupied Russian territory on Friday reported that Ukrainian forces had left a “trail of destruction” in their wake.
A video shared on social media showed a road bridge over the Seym river collapsing, cutting off parts of the local district as Ukrainian forces sought new footholds inside the country. A Russian military blogger said the destruction of the bridge would disrupt Russia’s lines of communication.
On Saturday evening, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog issued a warning about what it described as another “escalation of nuclear safety and security risks” at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which was seized by Russia on its first full day. – scale invasion.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi expressed his alarm a few hours after a drone struck the road around the perimeter of Europe’s largest nuclear plant, which has been closed by Russian forces but needs external power to keep the nuclear material cool and prevent a meltdown.
The drone hit the road between the plant’s two main gates, landing near an important cooling water sprinkler pool and about 100 meters from the Dniprovska power line, the only remaining 750 kilovolt line that supplies electricity to the plant, the IAEA said. said.
Ukraine was forced to deny Russian claims – reportedly sent to the IAEA – that Kyiv planned to attack the nuclear plant in Kursk and tried to blame Moscow for “provocation”. Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the claims were “crazy” propaganda.
Kyiv reports it has seized control of 82 settlements in a 444-square-mile area of ​​Kursk since crossing into Russia on August 6. Ukraine’s foreign ministry said the figure exceeded the territory of Ukraine occupied by Russia this year.
Mr. Zelensky said the attack killed several Russian soldiers, who could be used for a prisoner exchange. A Ukrainian colonel told The Independent this week that as many as 2,000 Russian soldiers have been taken prisoner, a figure that cannot be independently verified.
Russia’s human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova has started talks on the exchange of prisoners of war, Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets was quoted by the United States’ Institute for War Studies.
Despite the Kursk offensive, Russia continues to pursue military gains on Ukraine’s eastern front. A senior official in the Donetsk city of Pokrovsk – a major military center – has warned that Russia is “fast approaching” the region on Thursday.
Mr Zelensky said on Saturday that the situation near the towns of Pokrovsk and Toretsk was “under control”.
He said: “(There were) dozens of Russian attacks on our positions in the last day. But our soldiers and units did everything to destroy the invaders and repel the attacks.
He reiterated his desire to ensure Ukraine’s long-term capabilities. There are currently discussions among Ukraine’s Western allies about whether Kyiv should be allowed to use long-range missiles to attack Russia.
Northeast Ukraine is under attack from Russian missiles. The city of Sumy was targeted, two people were injured in the attack which also damaged cars and nearby buildings.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said the attack included Iskander-K cruise missiles and aerial bombs.
After being the first Ukrainian official to publicly discuss the rescue of Kyiv in Kursk in the comments to The Independent this week, Mr. Zelensky’s senior adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said there is a clear to see how the operation “objective used to convince the Russian Federation to enter into a fair negotiation process”.
But, Washington Post It is reported that a planned private discussion between Ukrainian and Russian officials over access to energy has been delayed by the Kursk offensive.
The talks are reportedly scheduled in Qatar. Ukrainian officials told the newspaper that the talks were delayed due to the situation in the Middle East.
