Ukraine has officially acknowledged using US-made HIMARS missile systems to destroy Russian pontoon bridges in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, marking a significant development in its ongoing incursion across the border, Euractiv reports.
Ukraine’s military damaged a bridge over the Seym River near the village of Zvane in Russia’s Kursk Oblast on 18 August. The attacks are part of Ukraine’s efforts to disrupt Russian logistics and strengthen its foothold in the area it captured after crossing into Kursk on 6 August.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry claims the country has made larger territorial gains in Kursk than Russia has achieved in Ukraine this year.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the operation as “very limited… in terms of space and time.” He also said that Berlin had not been consulted beforehand about the incursion.
Russia, for its part, claims to have halted Ukraine’s advance in Kursk. Major General Apti Alaudinov told Rossiya state television, “We halted them and started pushing them back,” though he warned of potential new attacks.
The use of US-made weapons on Russian soil raises questions about the limits of Western support. While allies have prohibited Ukraine from conducting long-range strikes inside Russia with Western weapons, they have allowed their use in border areas since Russia’s offensive on the Kharkiv Oblast this spring.
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