Ukraine on Wednesday (August 21) for the first time admitted that its military used American-made weapons to destroy several bridges in Russia, to solidify its gains in the Kursk region. At the same time, Moscow has intensified its offensive in eastern Ukraine.
In a statement, Ukraine said it used the American-made “HIMARS multiple rocket system” in operations to disrupt Russia’s logistics facilities in the Kursk region. This marks the first official acknowledgment from Kyiv of the use of this weapon within Russian territory.
Washington did not directly comment on the use of American-made weapons in Russia, but stated that its policy remains unchanged, as Ukraine is resisting a full-scale invasion by Russia.
Since unexpectedly entering the Kursk region on August 6, Kyiv has declared a series of battlefield victories. Meanwhile, Moscow claims its forces have repelled Kyiv’s advances and made progress in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukrainian forces are strengthening their troop deployments around the key eastern town of Pokrovsk to counter Russia’s continued advance. Pokrovsk is a focal point of Russia’s advancement in eastern Ukraine.
In a televised address, Zelenskyy urged allies to fulfill their commitments and promptly supply ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces, emphasizing the critical importance of this assistance for their defense.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated at a press conference on Wednesday that he expects Kyiv’s advances in the Kursk region to be “very limited spatially, and possibly temporally,” adding that Berlin was not informed in advance of this operation.
Ukraine has kept its overall objectives in the Kursk region confidential but has indicated the establishment of a buffer zone from areas used by Russia to target locations within Ukraine.
A video released by Ukraine’s special operations forces showed several pontoon bridges in the Kursk region being destroyed. According to official Russian reports, Ukraine destroyed at least three bridges over the Seym River.
Ukraine’s special forces posted on the Telegram messaging app, saying, “The pontoon bridges in the Kursk region of Russia are ‘missing’? … Our operators accurately destroyed them.”
Ukraine claims that Kyiv has occupied 92 settlements in the Kursk region, covering an area exceeding 1,250 square kilometers, surpassing Moscow’s territorial gains in Ukraine this year.
Since the end of 2022, the Ukrainian military had not achieved any significant victories on the battlefield. This incursion into Russian territory has significantly boosted their morale, with Russia calling it an escalation of the situation.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russia has seized the settlement of Zelenaya located less than 20 kilometers east of the transportation hub Pokrovsk.
Both sides reported facing numerous drone attacks. Ukraine claimed to have intercepted 50 out of 69 drones launched by Russia, while Moscow stated that its air defense units destroyed 45 drones in Russian airspace, including 11 over the Moscow area.
Roman Kostenko, Secretary of the Defense Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament, mentioned that despite the incursion into Russian territory, Russia’s primary objective remains capturing the Donetsk region and has not diverted forces from near Pokrovsk as reinforcements.
During an interview with the Ukrainian online TV channel Espreso TV, Kostenko said, “The enemy (Russia) indeed started to transfer some forces … but their main position is not to withdraw troops from the direction of Pokrovsk.”
Russia has repeatedly stated that Ukraine’s offensive has halted. Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Chechen “Akhmat” Special Forces and Deputy Head of the Military-Political Department of the Defense Ministry, reported to Moscow that Russian forces have repelled Ukraine’s offensive.
In an interview with the Russian state television channel Rossiya 1, Alaudinov said, “We stopped them and started pushing them back.” He added that Ukrainian forces are regrouping and may launch new offensives soon, without disclosing further details.
Mykola Bielieskov, a researcher at the Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies, noted that destroying bridges will help Ukraine establish defensive lines along the river in the Kursk region.
He remarked in a TV comment, “This is an opportunity to make the defense line more stable, systematic, and better equipped to repel Russia’s attacks.”
While allies previously prohibited Ukraine from using Western weapons for long-range strikes within Russia, following Russia’s intense offensive in the Kharkiv region this spring, allies have successively allowed Kyiv to use Western weapons to target border areas.
(This article referenced relevant reports from Reuters)