A spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry has said that a strike on a key bridge in Russia’s Kursk region was likely carried out using the US-made HIMARS rocket system.
“For the first time the Kursk region was struck by Western-made rockets, probably American Himars,” Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram.
“As a result of the attack on the bridge over the Seim River in the Glushkovsky district, it was completely destroyed and volunteers providing assistance to the evacuated civilians were killed,” she added.
The Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, shared footage appearing to show the strike in a post on Telegram, writing: “Ukrainian pilots are conducting precision strikes against enemy strongholds, equipment concentrations, as well as enemy logistics centers and supply routes.”
Alexei Smirnov, Kursk’s acting governor, confirmed the incident in another post on Telegram, writing: “As the result of an attack from Ukraine, a road bridge across the Seym River in the Glushkovsky district was destroyed. I am currently in contact with the local administration.”
The bridge had been key for Russian supply lines, which Ukraine has been actively targeting.
In an address to the nation on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the country’s forces were focusing on hampering Russian military logistics and reserves.
“We must inflict maximum damage on all Russian positions, and we are doing that,” he added.
The strike on the bridge came as part of a wider cross-border offensive launched by Ukraine last week — a move that surprised both Russia and the West.
While Ukraine continues to push deeper into Russia, it has said that it is not interested in “taking territory.”
“The sooner Russia agrees to restore a just peace, the sooner Ukrainian raids on Russian territory will stop. As long as Putin continues the war, he will receive such responses from Ukraine,” a spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign affairs ministry said, per the BBC.
