The Ukrainians blew up a vital Russian bridge

Ukrainian forces blew up a bridge over the Sazh River in the Kursk region of southern Russia on Friday, prompting the evacuation of the population from the area, according to Russian authorities.

According to Aleksy Shmirnov, the regional governor, the bridge was destroyed in the Glushkovo district, and the evacuation of the district’s 20,000 residents is currently underway. Ukrainian troops unexpectedly invaded the Kursk region on August 6, claiming to have captured 82 settlements and more than 1000 square kilometers of territory since then.

Vladimir Putin, an influential advisor to the Russian president, stated on Friday that in the surprise attack, the West and NATO assisted Ukraine, a claim that Washington denies.

Kiev says the invasion was necessary to force Russia into fair peace talks, as Russia has been at war with Ukraine since February 2022.

Western powers have stated that they did not provide prior information to Kiev and are not participating in the offensive.

However, in an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia, Patrushev said, “The Kursk operation was planned with the participation of NATO and Western intelligence services.” He added:

Without Western participation and direct support, Kiev would not have risked incursion into Russian territory.

The Russian defense ministry announced on Friday that a series of Ukrainian attacks had been repelled along the Kursk front line.

Citing a Russian security official, RIA Novosti reported that during the elimination of a Ukrainian sabotage group near the village of Kremyanoye,

American and Swedish-made firearms – an Automatic Carbine 5 assault rifle, an M4 carbine, and an M2 Browning machine gun were seized.

RIA Novosti quoted parliamentarian Mikhail Seremet as saying on Friday that with Western-supported Ukrainian incursions in Kursk, the world is closer to a full-scale global war.

Given the presence of Western military equipment, the use of Western ammunition and missiles against civilian infrastructure, and undeniable foreign involvement in the attack on Russian territory, it can be concluded that the world is on the brink of a third world war

– said a member of the parliamentary defense committee.

Gennady Pusilin, the Russian-appointed administrative leader of Donetsk province, said that at least seven civilians – including a teenager – were injured in a targeted Ukrainian air strike on Friday in a shopping center in Donetsk city under Russian control.

The Galaxie shopping center caught fire, and a nearby hospital was damaged, he added.

The Russian defense ministry announced that their forces had captured the village of Sergeyevka in the region. The ministry stated on the Telegram messaging app that on Friday morning, Russian air defense intercepted 12 ATACMS American missiles fired by Ukrainian forces over the bridge connecting Russia with the Crimea Peninsula annexed in 2014.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday evening that it had summoned Italy’s ambassador to Moscow because two journalists from the Italian public television RAI reported from the fighting in the Kursk region.

They announced that the Ministry of the Interior intends to initiate legal proceedings against Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini for illegal border crossing.