Newly released satellite images show the bridges Ukrainian strikes destroyed inside Russia
Ukrainian forces target a bridge in Russia’s Kursk region in August.
Satellite images newly released by the British defense ministry show several destroyed bridges in Russia after Ukrainian strikes.
Ukraine has targeted bridges throughout the Kursk region as part of its weekslong invasion of Russia in what appears to be an attempt to disrupt logistics and supply lines as Moscow continues to push more resources there.
The satellite images, which were captured last month but only released on Saturday, show the aftermath of Ukrainian strikes on one road bridge and two pontoon bridges in Kursk.
The Ukrainians “continue to hamper Russian logistics in the Kursk region in a series of strikes which destroyed road and pontoon bridges over the Seym river,” Britain’s defense ministry wrote in an intelligence update.
Russia can use its floating pontoon bridges, which are temporary, to ferry personnel and military equipment across the Seym. These bridges came into play as Ukrainian strikes knocked out some of the more permanent structures.
Aftermath of a strike on a road bridge.
The aftermath of a strike on a pontoon bridge.
The aftermath of a strike on another pontoon bridge.
Ukraine’s air force has played a key role in the campaign targeting bridges.
“Kursk direction. Minus one more bridge!” the Ukrainian air force wrote in an August 18 Telegram statement after a strike.
“Aviation of the Air Force continues to deprive the enemy of logistical capabilities with precise strikes from the air, which significantly affects the course of hostilities!” it added.
The campaign targeting bridges underscores how Ukraine has been able to use airpower to support its ground forces in Kursk. Kyiv has struggled throughout the war to execute combined-arms operations like these in other areas of the front line.
Ukraine has also used ground-launched weapons like the US-provided High Mobility Rocket Artillery System, or HIMARS, to strike bridges in Kursk.
Ukraine stunned the Kremlin and the international community in early August when it suddenly launched an invasion into Kursk, marking the largest assault on Russian soil by a foreign enemy since World War II.
Britain’s defense ministry said on Sunday that Ukraine has maintained control of up to 900 square kilometers — roughly 350 square miles — of territory in Kursk since mid-August.
Questions remain on whether it can hold its gains. Russia recently launched counteroffensive operations in Kursk. Britain’s defense ministry said Moscow has highly likely retaken several villages in the region through these efforts, which have been led by airborne and naval infantry forces.
Ukraine continues to express its commitment. “Every day, unwavering attention is paid to the frontline and our operation in the Kursk region,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Sunday address to the nation, according to a transcript of his remarks. “We continue our active operations, and it is crucial that the ‘exchange fund’ for us, for our state is being replenished.”
