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The newspaper La Jornada
Monday, August 19, 2024, p. 29

kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that his country’s military incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is aimed at creating a buffer zone to prevent further cross-border attacks by Moscow.

It is the first time that Zelensky has clearly addressed the purpose of the operation, launched on August 6. He had previously said the raid was intended to protect communities in the Sumy border region from constant shelling.

Zelensky said in his evening speech: Now our main task in defensive operations in general is to destroy all possible Russian military potential and carry out maximum counteroffensive actions. This includes the creation of a buffer zone on the territory of the aggressor – our operation in the Kursk region..

Ukraine destroyed a crucial bridge in the Kursk region and attacked a nearby one over the weekend, disrupting Russian supply routes, officials said.

Pro-Kremlin Russian military bloggers acknowledged that the destruction of the first bridge, which spanned the Seim River, would complicate the delivery of supplies to Russian forces repelling the Ukrainian incursion, although Moscow could still use floating and smaller bridges.

The Russian Foreign Ministry and pro-Kremlin bloggers said US-made Himars launchers were used to destroy the bridges. It was not possible to verify these claims with independent sources.