This {photograph} taken on 16 August, 2024, throughout a media tour organised by Ukraine, reveals a broken statue of the founding father of the Soviet Union Vladimir Lenin within the Ukrainian-controlled Russian city of Sudzha, Kursk area, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Kyiv mentioned August 16, 2024, its incursion into Russian territory had superior, claiming it aimed to power Russia to barter on “honest” phrases, as Moscow’s troops introduced new features in japanese Ukraine.
Yan Dobronosov | Afp | Getty Photos
Russia’s international ministry mentioned Ukraine had used Western rockets, doubtless U.S.-made HIMARS, to destroy a bridge over the Seym river within the Kursk area, killing volunteers making an attempt to evacuate civilians.
“For the primary time, the Kursk area was hit by Western-made rocket launchers, in all probability American HIMARS,” Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian international ministry, mentioned late on Friday on the Telegram messaging app.
“Because of the assault on the bridge over the Seym River within the Glushkovo district, it was utterly destroyed, and volunteers who had been aiding the evacuated civilian inhabitants had been killed.”
Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi mentioned on Friday that Kyiv’s forces had been advancing between 1 and three kilometres (0.6 to 1.9 miles) in some areas within the Kursk area, 11 days since starting an incursion into Russia.
Kyiv has claimed to have taken management of 82 settlements over an space of 1,150 sq. kilometres (440 sq. miles) within the area since Aug. 6. Reuters couldn’t independently confirm both aspect’s battlefield accounts.
Russia has accused the West of supporting and inspiring Ukraine’s first floor offensive on Russian territory and mentioned Kyiv’s “terrorist invasion” wouldn’t change the course of the warfare.
The USA, which has mentioned it can’t permit Russian President Vladimir Putin to win the warfare he launched in February 2022, thus far deems the shock incursion a protecting transfer that justifies the usage of U.S. weaponry, officers in Washington mentioned.
Russia has referred to as the incursion a “main provocation” and vowed to retaliate with a “worthy response,” greater than 2-1/2 years because it launched a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour.
Russia’s Defence Ministry mentioned on Friday its troops repelled Ukrainian assaults in a number of areas, together with close to the villages of Gordeevka, Russkoe Porechnoe and others.
Zelenskyy hailed Russia’s losses within the Kursk area as “very useful” for Ukraine’s defence.
“It issues the destruction of the Russian military logistics and the draining of their reserves,” he mentioned in a night handle.
Ukrainian servicemen function a tank on a street close to the border with Russia, within the Sumy area of Ukraine, on August 14, 2024. The Ukrainian military entered Russia’s Kursk area on August 6, capturing dozens of settlements within the largest offensive by a international military on Russian soil since World Warfare II.
Roman Pilipey | Afp | Getty Photos
Kyiv Air Drive commander Mykola Oleshchuk added on Telegram that aviation was an energetic a part of the operation, focusing on the enemy’s provide routes and logistics centres. He posted a video of a strike on a bridge.
Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov mentioned Ukraine had destroyed a street bridge over the Seym river within the area’s Glushkovsky district.
Goal within the east
The heaviest preventing, although, was ongoing in Ukraine’s east the place Russian troops for months have been inching in the direction of the strategic hub of Pokrovsk.
Analysts mentioned that distracting Russian forces from the east was one of many goals of Ukraine’s Kursk operation. However thus far there was no indication of letup within the east.
Russian forces had been 10 kilometres from the outskirts of Pokrovsk and about 6 kilometres from close by Myrnohrad, in line with native officers.
“If the target was to divert the Russian effort from the Donbas, it is failed thus far,” mentioned Yohann Michel, a French army professional and analysis fellow on the IESD Institute in Lyon, France.
He mentioned Kyiv was aiming to maximise the impact of the Kursk offensive whereas Russia was making an attempt to do the identical in Ukraine’s east.
“It is in all probability the primary one who will blink who should cease his personal offensive,” he mentioned.
Zelenskyy mentioned Ukraine was “not for a second” forgetting in regards to the east and promised recent weapons deliveries – over what was deliberate — to strengthen the positions.
