Ukraine destroys 3rd bridge in daring bid to cut off Russian troops in Kursk as expert says it may be game over for Vlad
UKRAINE has destroyed a third bridge in four days in what could be a daring bid to cut off enemy troops and seize another massive area of Russian land.
Kyiv has taken out the vital crossings over the River Seym to the west of its surprise invasion of Vladimir Putin's country.
The river is about 15km from the Ukrainian border and Russia currently holds the 550sqkm area south of it.
Ukraine hit the bridges at Glushkovo and Zvannoe over the weekend, with Russian blogs saying a third was struck overnight at Karyzh.
Professor Michael Clarke told The Sun that Ukraine destroying the bridges left Russian troops cut off and in "mortal danger".
He said it is now tougher for Russia to reinforce the area south of the Seym and attack the Ukrainian pocket from the west.
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Secondly, cutting Russian supply lines meant it would open the area up for Ukraine to assault.
He said: "Instead of moving northwards, they [troops inside Russia] might move westwards, which keeps their flanks short.
"They will always be able to recover and get back across to their side of the border quite quickly."
Clarke believes the Russians have poorly trained conscripts in the area, but it is not known how many.
He said the gamble for Ukraine was whether it would "dilute" its troops elsewhere to take the land.
The area's proximity to Ukraine meant it would be easy to reinforce and the Seym would make the area easily defensible.
Attacking the bridges would protect the flank of the salient and create the opportunity to go on and occupy the land.
He said the bridges mattered as the Russians needed them to supply their troops.
He said: "Without functional bridges, the Russians would struggle sending across the heavy equipment and munitions their forces need.
"The Russian military is ponderous, and needs heavy logistical supply to undertake operations."
The Ukrainian military has been progressively destroying the crossings along the river.
Ukraine hit the first crossing on Friday in a targeted HIMARS missile strike that caused one section to collapse.
It came after they struck the same bridge days before but only left holes in it.
Ukraine then bombed the second bridge Sunday with a fighter jet.
A massive hole was left in that bridge making it impassable for vehicles.
Drone footage showed a huge mushroom cloud rising up in the aftermath of the strike.
On Sunday, President Zelenksy stated the objective of the assault was to create a "buffer zone" between Ukraine and Russia.
He said: “It is now our primary task in defensive operations overall: to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions.
“Everything that inflicts losses on the Russian army, Russian state, their military-industrial complex, and their economy helps prevent the war from expanding and brings us closer to a just end to this aggression."
Ukraine invaded Russia on August 6 and has since captured 1,000sqkm of territory including dozens of towns.
Troops have reached 35km (21 miles) inside Russia after the surprise breakthrough and continue to push forward.
Hundreds of thousands of Russian civilians have fled their homes as Ukraine's troops advanced.
Putin has been humiliated by the invasion, which captured the same amount of land in eight days as Russia had in eight months.
Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told The Sun the Russian despot needs to act "very quickly" to maintain his iron-grip on power.
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He said: “If he doesn't, there'll be lots of his gangster chums who'll quite happily slip something in his tea and take over.
“Putin is on thin ice and the temperature is getting hotter.”
Inside Ukraine's invasion of Russia
Why has the Ukrainian invasion of Russia been so successful?
A DARING Ukrainian military push into Russia's Kursk region has become the largest attack on the country since World War Two.
Kyiv's forces have seized scores of villages, taken hundreds of prisoners and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians.
After more than a week of fighting, Russian troops are still struggling to drive out the invaders.
Why has Russian military been caught so unprepared?
- A long undefended border
Russia's regions of Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod share a 720-mile border with Ukraine - including a 152-mile section in the Kursk region.
And it only had symbolic protection before Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.
It's been reinforced since then with checkpoints on key roads and field fortifications in places - but not enough to repel a Ukrainian assault.
The most capable Russian units are fighting in eastern Ukraine, leaving the border vulnerable to attack.
- Element of surprise
Ukrainian troops participating in the incursion were reportedly only told about their mission a day before it began.
The secrecy contrasted with last year's counteroffensive - when Ukraine openly declared its goal of cutting the land corridor to annexed Crimea.
Ukraine ended up failing as troops trudged through Russian minefields and were pummelled by artillery and drones.
But in Kursk, Ukrainian troops didn't face any of these obstacles.
Battle-hardened units easily overwhelmed Russian border guards and small infantry units made up of inexperienced conscripts.
The Ukrainians drove deep into the region in several directions - facing little resistance and sowing chaos and panic.
- Russia's slow response
The Russian military command initially relied on warplanes and choppers to try to stop the onslaught.
At least one Russian helicopter gunship was shot down and another was damaged.
Moscow began pulling in reinforcements, managing to slow Ukraine's advances - but failed to completely block troops.