According to Russian sources, Ukraine has either destroyed or damaged all three bridges spanning Russia’s Seym River.

 

According to Russian sources, Ukrainian forces have either destroyed or damaged all three bridges over the Seym River in western Russia. This development comes as Kyiv's incursion into Russia’s Kursk region enters its third week on Tuesday.

The incursion is shifting the dynamics of the conflict and boosting morale among Ukraine’s war-weary population. However, the ultimate outcome of this first attack on Russian soil since World War II remains uncertain.

While Ukraine celebrates its successes in Russian territory, the Russian advance in eastern Ukraine is nearing the capture of another strategic city, Pokrovsk.

By targeting the bridges over the Seym River in Kursk, Ukraine may be setting up a potential trap for Russian forces, who could find themselves caught between the river, Ukrainian advances, and the Ukrainian border. This strategy appears to be slowing Russia’s response to the Kursk incursion, which began on August 6.

On Monday, a Russian military investigator confirmed that Ukraine had “totally destroyed” one bridge and damaged two others in the area, though the full extent of the damage remains unclear.

The unnamed representative for Russia’s Investigative Committee reported in a video on Russian state TV anchor Vladimir Solovyov’s Telegram channel that targeted shelling with rockets and artillery had damaged a third bridge over the Seym River in Karyzh village.

Russian military bloggers Vladimir Romanov and Yuri Podolyaka, along with several prominent pro-war Telegram channels, also reported that the third bridge had been hit and damaged. Podolyaka’s post was further shared by Roman Alekhin, an advisor to Kursk’s acting regional governor.

Since the incursion into the Kursk region began, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reported that the Ukrainian army has captured 1,250 square kilometers (480 square miles) and 92 settlements.

Zelenskyy has stated that the operation aims to establish a buffer zone to prevent future attacks from across the border and that Ukraine is capturing a significant number of Russian prisoners of war, with plans to exchange them for Ukrainian captives.

According to TASS, a Russian state news agency, Ukraine’s incursion has resulted in 17 deaths and 140 injuries, citing an unnamed source in the Russian medical service. Of the 75 hospitalized, four are children.

Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations reported Tuesday that over 500 people have been evacuated from dangerous areas in the Kursk region in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of displaced individuals to more than 122,000 since the start of the Ukrainian attack.

Additionally, a massive fire has been burning for a third consecutive day after Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot in Russia.

The fire at the oil depot in Proletarsk burned across an area of one hectare (2.5 acres), according to Russian state news agencies. The firefighting effort involved 500 firefighters, 41 of whom have been hospitalized with injuries, as reported by TASS, citing local officials.

On Sunday, Ukraine’s Army General Staff claimed responsibility for the attack on the oil depot, which supplied the Russian military. They described the strike as an effort “to undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian Federation.”

In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of “trying to destabilize our country” and likened their actions to terrorism.

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“We will punish the criminals. There can be no doubt about that,” Putin stated on Tuesday. He made these remarks while meeting with the mothers of children killed in the 2004 Beslan school attack by Islamic militants, which resulted in over 330 deaths.

Analysts and Ukrainian officials say Ukraine’s incursion has highlighted Russian vulnerabilities.

On Monday, President Zelenskyy expressed confidence that Ukraine’s actions would help alleviate Western concerns about providing more substantial military aid. Some allies have been cautious, delivering weapons slowly and setting limits on their use, fearing that crossing a perceived “red line” with Russia could trigger escalation, including nuclear escalation.

“We have achieved a significant ideological shift: the naive and illusory notion of ‘red lines’ regarding Russia, which influenced some of our partners' views on the war, has been shattered near Sudzha,” Zelenskyy stated, referring to a Russian town now under Ukrainian control.

While much remains uncertain about Ukrainian operations within Russia, satellite images offer some insights.

Recent satellite images from Planet Labs PBC have shown pontoon bridges—temporary structures used by militaries when permanent bridges are destroyed—at two different locations along the Seym River. These pontoons were likely constructed by Russian forces to support troops around the Ukrainian advance.

One pontoon bridge was visible along the winding section of the river between Glushkovo and the village of Zvannoye on Saturday, but it was not present in images taken on Monday. On that day, smoke was observed rising from the riverbanks, suggesting a potential strike.

Meanwhile, in eastern Ukraine, Russia has intensified its assault on Pokrovsk, a major Ukrainian defensive stronghold and logistics hub in the Donetsk region. The pressure has forced Ukrainian forces to withdraw and prompted civilians to evacuate. The capture of Pokrovsk would undermine Ukraine’s defensive capabilities and supply routes, bringing Russia closer to its goal of securing the entire Donetsk region.

Russia’s prolonged campaign in the region, following the capture of Avdiivka, has resulted in heavy losses for both sides in terms of troops and equipment. Russia aims to control all of Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk, which together form the industrial Donbas region.