(Forbes) – Ukrainian forces have recently intensified their campaign in the Kursk Oblast of southeastern Russia, aiming to disrupt Russian supply lines and isolate a significant area. Over the past four days, Ukrainian military operations have resulted in the destruction of four bridges, three of which were major concrete structures.
The Seym River, which flows westward through Kursk Oblast, divides the region from the border with Ukraine. This river has become a critical focus of Ukrainian military strategy. Since August 6, when Ukrainian forces, comprising several brigades and supporting units, crossed into Kursk, their efforts have been concentrated on targeting the river’s bridges. The goal is to isolate a large portion of Kursk Oblast, which lies west of the river and within the 300-square-mile invasion zone.
The Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies has highlighted that the destruction of these bridges and the advancement of Ukrainian forces to the western bank of the Seym aim to gain control over a section of Kursk Oblast south of the river. This strategic move is designed to cut off Russian troops and resources in the area.
In response, Russian forces have been working to rebuild the damaged infrastructure. Despite their efforts to construct new bridges, these temporary pontoon bridges are even more susceptible to destruction than the original concrete spans.
The first bridge was destroyed on Friday when Ukrainian rockets, reportedly fired from U.S.-supplied HIMARS launchers, hit the concrete bridge in Glushkovo, a town 26 miles west of Sudzha. The second bridge fell the following day in Zvannoe, just seven miles west of Glushkovo. The third major bridge, located in Karyzh, was destroyed on Monday.
Russian engineers responded by quickly constructing pontoon bridges. One was set up near Glushkovo on Friday, and another was built between Glushkovo and Zvannoe by Saturday. While these pontoon bridges provide a temporary solution, they lack the durability and capacity of permanent structures and are more easily destroyed.
Indeed, it appears that the Ukrainians may have already targeted one of the newly built pontoon bridges. Data from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System satellites indicates that something was burning at the location of a temporary bridge on Monday.
It remains unclear how many additional bridges Ukrainian forces would need to destroy to fully isolate the targeted area in Kursk Oblast. However, the available satellite imagery suggests that the bridges destroyed over the past few days were the primary permanent crossings in the region. This implies that Russian forces may now rely entirely on pontoon bridges to cross the Seym River.