Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday his forces were “strengthening” their positions in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kiev has been waging a major ground offensive for more than 11 days.
His comments came a day after Moscow accused Ukraine of destroying a key bridge over a river in the border region, as Kiev seeks to disrupt supply routes and the movement of Moscow’s troops in the region.
Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Sirsky “reports on strengthening of our forces’ positions in the Kursk region and expansion of the stable zone,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram.
“As of this morning, we have replenished the exchange fund for our country,” Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian soldiers captured by Ukraine who will be used in a future prisoner swap.
“I thank all the soldiers and commanders who are taking Russian servicemen prisoner and thus bringing closer the release of our servicemen and civilians held captive by Russia,” Zelenskyy said.
Kiev claims to have taken control of more than 80 settlements in a lightning-fast offensive that stunned the Kremlin nearly two-and-a-half years after its full-blown invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday it had pushed back Ukrainian troops near three settlements in the Kursk region, and was searching for “mobile enemy groups” trying to penetrate deeper into the country.
The bridge was completely destroyed
Russian officials on Friday accused Ukraine of attacking a strategically important bridge just two dozen kilometres from the fighting in the Kursk region.
The regional governor, Alexei Smirnov, said on Friday evening that the bridge is in the Glushkovsky district, about 11 kilometers (seven miles) from the border.
An aerial video published by Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk showed the bridge being hit by a high-speed projectile, after which it collapsed in a cloud of smoke.
“Ukrainian pilots are delivering precise strikes against enemy strongholds, equipment targets, as well as enemy logistics centers and supply routes,” he said on Telegram.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the bridge was “completely destroyed” and “volunteers assisting evacuated civilians were killed”.
“All those responsible for these inhumane acts will be awarded severe punishment,” he said.
Russia on Saturday accused Ukraine of dropping explosives on a road near the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.
The plant, which was seized by Russian forces early in the war, has been repeatedly attacked, with both sides blaming each other for it.
Meanwhile, Russia attacked at least four Ukrainian regions on Saturday, according to officials, including the northeastern region of Kharkiv, where prosecutors said a 49-year-old woman was killed in shelling.
‘In control’
While the offensive has significantly boosted Kiev’s morale, it appears to have had little impact on the larger fighting raging in Russian-occupied parts of eastern Ukraine.
Zelenskiy said on Saturday that there had been “dozens of Russian attacks” on Ukrainian positions near the towns of Pokrovsk and Toretsk, where Moscow has made a number of advances in recent weeks.
“Our troops and units are making every effort to destroy the occupiers and repel the attacks,” Zelensky said, stressing that the situation was “under control.”
Russia said on Friday that its forces had seized another village near Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian logistics hub on a road supplying troops and towns on the eastern border.
Russian forces have been advancing toward the city for several months and have captured several small villages in the past few weeks.
Sergey Dobryakov, head of the military administration in Pokrovsk, warned on Thursday that the Russians were about 10 kilometers from the outskirts of the city and urged remaining residents to evacuate the town.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
