LONDON — The Ukrainian military destroyed a bridge inside Russia that had been critically important for carrying Russian supplies, marking the second such bridge destroyed within days, the Ukrainian Air Force said Sunday.
The bridge had crossed the river Seym in the Kursk region, the area in western Russia where Ukrainian forces have been carrying out a large-scale ground incursion. Ukraine said last week it controlled some 80 settlements in Russia. Hundreds of thousands of Russians have been ordered to evacuate the area, according to Russian outlets.
Smoke billows from a bridge over the Seym river in the Glushkovo district, following a Ukrainian strike in the Kursk region, Russia, in this still image taken from a social media video released on August 16, 2024.
Ukraine’s Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk via Reuters
The strike on the bridge was expected to deprive Russia of “logistical capabilities,” Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk said in a post shared Sunday on the messaging app Telegram by the Ukrainian Air Force.
“Minus one more bridge!” the commander said in Ukrainian, which was translated by ABC News.
Oleschuk’s post was accompanied by a video that appeared to show plumes of smoke rising from the bridge, followed by a closer shot of the bridge’s tarmac with a hole in it.
A satellite image shows a bridge collapsed over the Seym River in the Glushkovo district, following a Ukrainian strike in the Kursk region, Russia, August 17, 2024.
2024 Planet Labs Inc. via Reuters
Oleschuk and the Air Force had posted on Friday a similar video, which appeared to show the destruction of another bridge on the same river. That video appeared to show greater destruction, with a length of the bridge completely destroyed.
“Ukrainian pilots use high-precision strikes against enemy strongholds, accumulations of equipment, as well as enemy logistics centers and supply routes,” Oleschuk said.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Camilla Alcini contributed to this report.