Last major crossing on this part of front in Kursk region hit overnight as Ukraine aims to expand ‘buffer zone’

Ukraine has destroyed a third bridge over the Seym River in the Kursk region, as part of an apparent attempt to expand what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has described as a military “buffer zone” inside Russia.

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Ukraine’s armed forces are now poised to push forward from their existing bridgehead around the Russian town of Sudzha, captured two weeks ago during a surprise offensive. They are seeking to encircle Russian troops – some of them conscripts – who are stuck south of the river in the Korenevsky district.

If the operation succeeds, Ukraine will gain another 700 sq km (270 sq miles) of Russian land. Russia has built pontoon bridges across the river in order to supply its forces, but these are vulnerable to close-range Ukrainian strikes from US-supplied Himars systems, truck-mounted mobile rocket launchers.