Ukraine said Sunday that it bombed a key bridge in Russia's Kursk region after destroying another span earlier.
The move reportedly left just one bridge intact for the delivery of supplies to Russian forces battling the surprise Ukrainian cross-border incursion that began Aug. 6.
Ukraine's air force commander, Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleschuk, posted an aerial video clip on the Telegram messaging website that showed a mushroom cloud billowing over a bridge at a bend in a river.
A close-up image also showed a gaping hole in the span's charred deck.
"Kursk direction. Minus one more bridge!" Oleschuk wrote. "Aviation of the Air Force continues to deprive the enemy of logistical capabilities with precise strikes from the air, which significantly affects the course of hostilities!"
Neither Oleschuk nor other officials said where the bridge was located, but messages posted on Russian Telegram channels said it crossed the Seim River in the village of Zvannoe, the Associated Press reported.
The attack was the second on a Russian bridge since Friday, when Ukraine said it used Western rockets to sever a span over the Seim near the town of Glushkovo.
A satellite image made public Friday showed that bridge cut in two, with a large section missing near one of the riverbanks.
Russia's Foreign Ministry acknowledged the first bridge was "completely destroyed" and claimed that an unspecified number of "volunteers who were assisting the evacuated civilian population were killed."
There were no reports Sunday of a Russian statement regarding the second bridge strike.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during his nightly televised address Sunday that the incursion into the Kursk region was intended to forestall further cross-border attacks by Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
"It is now our primary task in defensive operations overall: to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions," he said, according to AP. "This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor's territory -– our operation in the Kursk region."
His comments marked the first time Zelenskyy said Ukraine wanted to demilitarize the area, after initially saying the incursion into Russia was meant to protect Ukrainian communities in its Sumy region from constant shelling, AP said.
Zelenskyy also urged Ukraine's allies to speed up the delivery of promised military aid, saying, "War has no holidays," according to Reuters.
