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Ukraine continues its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, destroying a strategically important bridge over the Seim River.
According to Russian officials, the operation near the town of Glushkovo cut off traffic in parts of the area.
The Kremlin uses the bridge to supply its troops, and its destruction could hamper their efforts.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian troops were reinforcing their positions in Kursk and referred to the captured territories as a swap fund, suggesting they could be exchanged for Ukrainian regions held by Moscow.
Now in its second week, it is Ukraine’s deepest incursion into Russia since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion more than two years ago.
Ukraine’s sudden cross-border movement has caused more than 120,000 people to flee to safety.
But as Ukraine claims territorial gains, Kiev has repeatedly insisted it has no desire to occupy Russia.
“Ukraine is not interested in occupying Russian territory,” a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.
Myhaylo Podolak said that one of the main purposes of their invasion of Russia was to force Moscow to negotiate “on our own terms.”
“In the Kursk region, we can clearly see how military means are objectively used to persuade Russia to enter a fair negotiation process,” he wrote on X, adding that Kiev had proven to be an “effective means of coercion.”
The head of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Sersky, said on Friday the offensive had made further progress.
“The troops of the offensive group continue to fight and have advanced one to three kilometers toward the enemy in some areas,” he told President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video posted on social media.
Silski said he hoped to capture “a large number of prisoners” from the fighting in the village of Malaloknia, about 13 kilometers (eight miles) from the border.
As Ukrainian troops continue to advance, officials in Russia’s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine said they would begin evacuating five villages from Monday.
“From August 19, we will close access to five settlements, evacuate residents and help them move their belongings,” Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on the Telegram social messaging app, naming small villages near the border.
However, as Ukraine pushed further into Russian territory in the west, Russian forces were making similar advances in eastern Ukraine.
On Friday, Moscow announced that its troops had captured Shelshivka, the latest in a string of towns captured by Russian forces in recent weeks.
The latest advance brings Russian troops closer to the city of Pokrovsk, a key logistical hub located on a major route for delivering supplies to Ukrainian troops on the eastern front.
Pokrovsk is located northwest of the Russian-controlled Donetsk region, which has been under attack by Ukrainian troops since Friday morning, injuring several civilians.
On Thursday, the head of the city’s military administration, Sergei Dobriak, sent a message urging people to evacuate because Russia was “rapidly approaching the suburbs.”
Earlier, in the Moscow-controlled Donetsk region of Ukraine, Russian-installed officials accused Kiev of launching an attack on a shopping mall that left at least seven people injured.
According to Denis Pushilin, governor of the Russia-backed Donetsk People’s Republic, the city has been under shelling since midday on Friday.
Reuters quoted the head of the Donetsk region as saying that three civilians had been killed and five injured in the past 24 hours.
In Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, missiles targeting a bridge built on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin were shot down overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram.
Kiev has launched several attacks and attempted attacks on the Kerch Bridge since Moscow launched its military offensive.
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